11 Nigerians held for drug trafficking; contraband worth Rs 1.61 crore seized

Thane: Police on Saturday arrested 11 Nigerian nationals in Navi Mumbai for allegedly running a drug racket, and seized from them cocaine and other narcotic substances worth Rs 1.61 crore, an official said.

The arrest was made following a raid conducted on Friday, he said.

"Acting on a tip-off that some Nigerian nationals residing at Koprigaon in Navi Mumbai's Vashi were operating a drug racket, a team of the police's Anti Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) conducted a raid at a flat between 3 pm and 7 pm on Friday, and seized drugs from there," the police official said.

Eleven Nigerian nationals in the age group of 30 to 50 were nabbed during the operation and were formally placed under arrest in the wee hours of Saturday, the police official said.

"The seized drugs comprised mostly cocaine. The stock also included mephedrone and MDMA. The collective value of the drugs is Rs 1,61,00,000," he added.

Mobile phones and other equipment worth around Rs 25 lakh were also seized from the accused, he said.

A case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered at the APMC police station in Vashi, the official said, adding that an investigation was underway.