Nigerian Nationals Arrested As Police Burst Drug Gang In India

Seven people, including three Nigerian nationals, were detained as part of a drug syndicate bust by the Hyderabad City Police’s Narcotics Enforcement Wing and the Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TSNAB).

In a decoy operation in Bangalore, the Nigerians, who have allegedly been smuggling drugs for 12 years, and a resident of Hyderabad were detained. They had cocaine and MDMA worth Rs. 1 crore taken from them.

Agbowo Maxwell Nnabuisi, Okeke Chigozie Blessing, Ikem Austin Obaka, and P. Sai Akash, a 25-year-old resident of Srinagar Colony, were among the Nigerians.

Thrissur resident M Sanjay Sunil Kumar and Manikonda resident T Bhanu Teja Reddy, both 23 years old, were arrested after they admitted to buying drugs from Nigerian nationals in Bangalore, according to CV Anand, director of the Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TS-NAB), on Saturday, July 8, 2023.

“The kingpin, Maxwell, came to Mumbai in 2011 on a medical visa. After a few months, he moved to Bangalore and changed his identity,” said CV Anand.

“In 2012, Blessing came to Mumbai on a business visa and moved to Tripur in Tamil Nadu. A decade later, Blessing touched down in Bangalore and began staying with Maxwell. Austin too came to India on a student visa and took shelter in Bangalore in 2021.”

“After reaching Bangalore, Maxwell created a fake passport in the name of Kweku Essuman Kwame. Using the fake passport as a document, he rented a house in MS Nagar in Bangalore and took an internet connection and used it as a hub for peddling drugs along with his friend Mazee,” police said. The African used virtual phone numbers to avoid detection.

“Maxwell and Mazee opened a bank account in Coimbatore, in 2020. They would ask their customers to credit money in bank account to supply the drugs,” Anand said, adding 4 crore was deposited in the account in six months.

Police investigators are examining transactions to identify additional offenders.

The police officer claimed that the suspect utilized a “dead drop” strategy, which involves using a pre-planned hiding spot for the delivery and collection of things gathered through espionage.

“Maxwell would share the location and photograph of the area to customers,” police said. Later, the duo met two other persons and offered to assist in peddling. All the four persons were arrested.”