Two Nigerians have been arrested in India this week for cocaine trafficking, in separate incidents that have raised concerns about foreign involvement in the country’s drug networks.
In Hyderabad, a Nigerian woman was detained on Friday after excise officials recovered 7.5 grams of cocaine from her possession.
Authorities said the arrest followed a tip-off that she had traveled from Mumbai to sell drugs in the city. She was intercepted in the central Paradise area shortly after arriving.
Investigators discovered five small packets of the substance in her belongings.
Preliminary findings suggest she had bought the drugs in Mumbai for about ₹15,000 (roughly N1.8 million) and planned to resell them at a profit. Reports indicate she was waiting in an autorickshaw to hand the cocaine to an unidentified recipient.
A case has been filed under India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and authorities are working to trace the source of the drugs and her contacts.
In New Delhi, 35-year-old John Chibuike, also a Nigerian, was arrested in Mehrauli after police seized one kilogram of high-quality cocaine from his home in Islam Colony.
According to police, Chibuike is suspected of operating a cocaine distribution network across the capital and has a previous NDPS-related record from 2022.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Anant Mittal described the seizure as a major disruption to the supply chain in South and South-East Delhi. Authorities are now investigating the wider syndicate, including potential local and international connections. A formal case has been registered at Mehrauli Police Station.
This comes just days after another Nigerian, Samuel Ikkena, 44, was arrested in Bengaluru, Karnataka, for allegedly running a major MDMA (ecstasy) trafficking operation. Police recovered MDMA worth about Rs 2 crore (over N290 million) and said Ikkena had sourced the drugs near Bannerghatta before selling them through a structured network.
The recent arrests have sparked heightened alert among Indian authorities, emphasizing the role of intelligence-led operations in tackling foreign-led drug networks.
