Nigerian arrested for drug smuggling

NCB sleuths have arrested a Nigerian for allegedly trying to smuggle party drugs worth Rs 3 lakh from here to New Zealand using a postal courier.

New Delhi, Dec 5: NCB sleuths have arrested a Nigerian for allegedly trying to smuggle party drugs worth Rs 3 lakh from here to New Zealand using a postal courier.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) swung into action after a courier agency informed it few days back about a suspect parcel booked to the Kiwi nation, officials said.

The sleuths soon landed at the courier office and recovered 300gms of Amphetamine (party drugs) from the said parcel and deployed their surveillance on the man who booked it. While the consignor details like address and other vitals on the parcel were fake, the mobile number was valid and it was put under surveillance.

A cab driver who works for app-based taxi portals like Uber and Ola, identified as Manoj Kumar was apprehended.

"He told investigators that he booked the parcel on behalf of a Nigerian whom he had befriended sometime back in order to earn some money as he was facing cash crunch," they said.

The Nigerian, identified as V I Emegwele alias Tony, was arrested along with Kumar from Faridabad under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) yesterday.

The Nigerian is understood to have promised Kumar to pay a commission fee of Rs 12,000 for booking the parcel, officials said. The value of the seized drug is about Rs 3 lakh, they said. The NCB is now trying to check the address of the consignee with help from their Kiwi counterparts there, they said.

PTI