Nigerian drug peddler held in Hyderabad, drugs worth Rs 1.25 crore seized

A 34-year-old Nigerian national was on Monday apprehended here and 150 grams of cocaine and ecstasy pills worth Rs 1.25 crore were seized from his possession, the Telangana Anti-Narcotic Bureau (TGANB) said.

Emmanuel Bediako alias Maxwell, during his three visits to India from 2013 operated out of Goa and allegedly sold drugs. He was dealing with celebrity cocaine (pure cocaine), cocaine and MDMA, it said in a release.

His total commission would be around Rs 1.17 crores for three trips, it said.

According to the TGANB, the drugs that are being sold by the Nigerian drug cartels are coming from abroad and the drug money and profits are sent to Nigeria through an extensive money laundering channel involving Indian hawala operators and Nigerian drug cartel.

TGANB will unearth these money laundering channels, it said.

A few days back, Maxwell's boss Romey, who mostly stays in Nigeria and operates from there, instructed him and money laundering channels to expand the business beyond Goa and suggested Hyderabad, which has a high customer base, the TGANB said. Hence, he came to his friend's house in Sainikpuri, Hyderabad and brought drugs to develop the network of local peddlers and consumers, it said. On the basis of the information, the sleuths of TGANB apprehended the accused, the release added.

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