Nigerian nationals have topped
the list of foreigners arrested for drug smuggling in Navi Mumbai over the past
five years. According to the sources from the anti-narcotic cell of Navi Mumbai
police, a total of 66 narcotic related cases were registered between 2012 and
April, this year in the city.
Nigerian nationals were involved in 14 of
these cases, the police said. Since 2012, the police have arrested 14 foreign
nationals for smuggling drugs to the city and 13 of them were from Nigeria,
while one was from Ghana. Barely a week ago, the police arrested one Nigerian
from Kopar Khairane who had come to sell mephedrone rock and powder.
Around 25 gram of the drug in
powder form and 85 gram in rock form collectively worth Rs 3.30 lakh was seized
from his possession. As far as foreign nationals are concerned, several
Bangladeshis were also arrested in the city in different crimes. But they were
mainly into fake currency notes scam, cheating, theft and robbery. None of them
were arrested for trading drugs.
Tushar Doshi, deputy commissioner of police
(special branch) said, “When it comes to drug smuggling by foreign nationals,
by and large all the criminals are from Africa in general and from Nigeria in
particular. The number of foreign nationals including those from Africa has
also increased in the city over the past two years.” The police said that these
Nigerians work in networks which also operate in other cities such as Delhi,
Mumbai and Pune.
Apart from their countrymen, several Indians
are also working in those networks. Maya More, police inspector from the
anti-narcotic cell said, “These criminals collect their drugs from people in
their networks and then smuggle those to different cities. The biggest problem
faced while trying to get details about their business is the language issue.
We cannot interrogate them properly after
their arrests, as many of them cannot speak proper English or any Indian
language.” Officials from the city special branch told Hindustan Times that
presently around 950 foreign nationals from nearly 70 counties are staying in
Navi Mumbai and around 50 of them are Africans. Amit Shellar, police
sub-inspector from the anti-narcotic cell said, “Most of the Nigerians arrested
for drug smuggling, had come to India on a business visa. Initially, they would
export garments from Mumbai to their country.
However, when their business would fail, they
would trade drugs for easy money.” According to the crime branch official, such
networks are operating in the city through word-of-mouth publicity. “They
initially target students from the affluent families and help in forming a
habit of taking the drug. Once they create a good number of customers, they
keep selling it to them,” an officer said on condition of anonymity. Apart from
drug smuggling, several Nigerians were also arrested for online cheating,
credit card and debit card frauds among others
0 comments:
Post a Comment