3 Nigerians arrested with drugs worth Rs12 lakh
All three were arrested under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), 1985.
Three Nigerian were arrested by officers from Anti-narcotic Cell of Thane police with contrabands worth Rs12lakh. The arrested accused were identified as Justin Egbonako Joy, 28, Yugo Chukuaa Ajaah, 32, and Suleman Okik Ekinichokho, 26, all resident of Navi Mumbai. All the three operated as pedlars in Thane, Mumbai, and Navi Mumbai.
On Saturday, ANC officers received a tip-off that three Nigerians were coming to Thane railway station, near Gaondevi temple, with ephedrine. Accordingly, the ANC collaborated with the police and laid a trap to nab the pedlars. The accused finally showed up around 11.45pm near Gaondevi temple and were taken into custody. While searching, police recovered 260gm of mephedrone and 320gm of ephedrine, worth Rs12 lakh.
All three were arrested under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), 1985. The accused were produced in a court on Sunday and were remanded in police custody for the next five days.
Speaking to HT, a Thane ANC officer said, “We suspect link of three Nigerians with that of Sushil Kumar Aasikanan, the key supplier of ephedrine to Nigeriens in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai. They are trying to mislead us. Initially they told us that they reside in Navi Mumbai, but later they changed their address to Nalasopara. We are also investigating whether the three pedlars know Sushil and purchased ephedrine from him. Moreover, their visas have been seized.”
In the second haul, officers from Kapurbawdi police station arrested a 54-year-old man and seized marijuana weighing 5.4 kg during a combing operation at Azad Nagar in Kapurbawdi in the wee hours of Sunday. The arreste accused was identified as Sunil Tammna Bhatt.
Another confiscation
A police officer from Kapurbawdi police station said, “The marijuana is worth Rs38,000. The accused was produced in a court today and will be in police custody for the next two days. Bhatt has been in the business of supplying contraband for the past few years and had managed to evade arrest for quite w while. He was arrested and booked under relevant section of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Bhatt is a resident of Kapurbawdi and supplying marijuana across Thane.”
Who is Sushil Kumar Assikanan?
#He was arrested in Rs2,000 crore-ephedrine drug haul case by Thane police on August 22 from Bengaluru.
#Investigation revealed that Assikanan was the key supplier of ephedrine to drug pedlars across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, including Nigerians.
#A Panvel resident, the 34-yer-old was on the run since April13 after the cops raided Solapur-based Avon Pharma Life Science Private Ltd
#During investigation, cops learnt that Assikanan was about to fly to Dubai and a few of his Bangalore friends were helping him monetarily
#He has been accused of supplying 180 kg ephedrine in the past and is the 11th accused to be arrested in the case.
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