Daijiworld Media Network - Navi Mumbai

Navi Mumbai, Oct 10: The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a 41-year-old Nigerian national for alleged drug peddling and seized mephedrone and cocaine collectively worth Rs 3.5 crore, police said.

The arrested accused has been identified as Ani Ikechukwu Darlington, who was staying as a tenant at Ambika building in Rohinjan village, Taloja. An FIR has been registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Acting on a tip-off, a Crime Branch team led by ANC Senior Inspector Sandeep Nigade laid a trap near a hotel in Taloja, along the Panvel-Mumbra highway, on Thursday at around 6.30 pm. The accused was apprehended after he was allegedly found in possession of 211 grams of mephedrone worth Rs 6.6 lakh.

During a subsequent search of his residence, police seized additional contraband, taking the total value of the seized drugs to around Rs 3.5 crore.

Nigade said the accused had previously been arrested in 2019 for drug peddling. He had spent seven years in prison and was released on bail last year, he said.

Over the past five years, a total of 2,387 cases under the NDPS Act have been registered at various police stations under the Navi Mumbai Police Commissionerate, with 3,200 accused arrested. Police have seized a total of 1,078 kg of drugs valued at around Rs 150 crore during this period, Nigade said.