Nigerian connect in drug trade

CHANDIGARH: Nigerian nationals have been figuring prominently in the drug tradebeing operated from Chandigarh. On March 7, a 35-year-old Nigerian man, Cyril, was arrested with 43gm of cocaine. In the recent case of the arrest of three Nepalese nationals for drug peddling, police suspect that they were to supply drugs to a Nigerian drug peddler in the city.

The statistics are telling. The Chandigarh police and sleuths from the Narcotics Control Bureau have arrested as many as 12 Nigerians with drugs in the last three years. According to the police, drug peddlersare using Chandigarh as a transit point to cater to the needs of other drug peddlers from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

"Of late we have found the involvement of many Nigerians in drug peddling cases. Some of them were arrested and contraband was seized from their possession. We are investigating all previous cases and trying to ascertain identities of their associates in other parts of the country," said Ashish Kapoor, deputy superintendent of police (central).

He also pointed out that many Nigerian nationals stay on in the country illegally even after the expiry of their visa. "We are keeping this factor in mind and conduct raids to check authentication of their travel documents whenever we suspect any suspicious activity or when we receive a complaint," Kapoor said.

The 43g of cocaine recovered from Cyril, the Nigerian national arrested on March 7, was valued at Rs 1.25 crore in the international market. Besides, police have also arrested some Nigerians for their involvement in cases of fraud like online lottery and bank transactions. Incidentally, all the Nigerian nationals arrested have proven to be quite tough, with nothing concrete emerging from their interrogation.

-The times of India