40-year-old Nigerian, accomplice arrested for drug trafficking in India
A 40-year-old Nigerian man identified as Chicka Abajuvo, along with one other suspect, has been arrested by the police in Wayanad, located in the northeast of the Indian state of Kerala for drug trafficking.
PUNCH Metro learnt on Sunday that the suspects were apprehended in the district just days after authorities busted a drug racket based in Bengaluru, leading to the arrest of Tanzanian national, Prince Samson.
According to Onmanorama, an India-based news outlet, the Wayanad police arrested the 40-year-old Nigerian alongside Sandeep Malik.
The report stated that “the duo was allegedly in cahoots with Samson, who was arrested earlier.” It further noted that Sandeep is reportedly a student in India.
The report continued, “Sleuths from the Sulthan Bathery police and the anti-narcotics wing of Wayanad police arrested the duo in a midnight operation.
“The police team, led by Sulthan Bathery Station House Officer NP Raghavan, raided a flat in Bengaluru and nabbed the two accused involved in trafficking drugs to Kerala.”
During the raid, the police recovered mobile phones, laptops, and several documents linking the suspects to other operators.
The report further revealed that a total of four individuals had been arrested in connection with a drug trafficking case registered in Sulthan Bathery in February.
“The drug racket has been involved in smuggling various drugs, including MDMA, into the state from Bengaluru. Authorities have also tracked large money transactions in many accounts associated with the suspects,” the report stated.
The first arrest in the case reportedly took place on February 24, when a man identified as Shefeek, a native of Cherumukku, Malappuram, was caught with 93.84 grams of MDMA during a vehicle inspection at the Muthanga checkpost.
“Shefeek was a key link between the racketeers in the Malabar districts and drug peddlers in Bengaluru,” the report noted, adding that the investigation remains ongoing.
PUNCH Metro reported the arrest of two Nigerians for a similar crime in the Delhi region of India in 2023.
At the time, a Special Cell of the Delhi police dismantled a three-man international drug cartel involving two Nigerians and a Sierra Leonean, who were allegedly supplying banned substances across India.
The police reportedly seized 6 kg of the hypnotic drug methaqualone and 2 kg of heroin” from the suspects, identified as Paul Joy from Sierra Leone and Peace Ilobe and Stephen, both from Nigeria.
