Hyderabad: The TS Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TS-Nab) and the Panjagutta police on Tuesday arrested and brought to the city a Nigerian national from Goa for peddling drugs and seized illegal narcotics worth Rs 8 crore from the suspect.
The police arrested the accused, Iwuala Udoka Stanley, 43, from his residence in Candolim Bardez in north Goa after keeping a watch on him for the past month.
Sandeep Shandilya, director of TS-NAB, said that Stanley came to India on a business visa in 2009 and initially stayed in Andheri of Mumbai, where he worked in a readymade clothing business. He then moved to Candolim a year later and undertook a similar venture there, during which time he came in contact with other Nigerian nationals, including drug peddlers and addicts.
West zone DCP M. Vijay Kumar, in a press conference on Tuesday, said that Stanley used to consume liquor and use cocaine, and observed that peddlers were making huge profits.
“During this time, the accused observed that many of them were earning huge money by selling drugs. Since he wanted to make quick money, he decided to sell drugs. Initially, he started buying cocaine and other drugs from acquainted Nigerians and started selling to tourists in Candolim, Goa,” Vijay Kumar said.
He said that the TS-NAB got to know about the accused on a confession made by Hanumant Babuso Divkar alias Baba, who was arrested three months ago from SR Nagar.
Vijay Kumar said that police teams, consisting of a sub-inspector and six head constables kept a watch on the accused for one month in Goa.
The police said that Stanley was previously arrested in 2012 by the Mapusa police for illegal stay, as he lost his passport, and served a six-month jail sentence. Upon his release, he came in contact with a Rajasthan native, Usha Chandel, whom he befriended and married in 2014.
“In 2014, he married her and opened a grocery shop in Candolim. At the same time, he also came into contact with two Nigerians who were staying in Goa and doing drug business. They used to visit Stanley’s grocery shop to purchase groceries and they became friends,” the DCP said.
He said that Stanley mainly procured drugs from fellow nationals in Mumbai, Goa and other parts of the country.
“The accused Stanley makes his financial transactions through trusted persons in the clothing business in Mumbai, to send money to the suppliers online for procuring drugs or for other drug deals,” DCP Vijay Kumar said.
He said that they retrieved a list of 500 consumers from Stanley, with seven found to be from Hyderabad.
“The investigation is continuing to identify drug peddlers, transporters, financial backers, other associates and consumers purchasing drugs from the accused person,” the DCP said.
Seizures:
Rs 5.4 lakh cash
557 grams cocaine
902 ecstasy pills
21 grams of heroin
45 grams of hydroponic marijuana
190 grams of marijuana
105 LSD blots
215 grams of charas
7 grams of amphetamines
8 mobile phones
TS-Nab appeals:
“In recent times, we have seen several youth/students getting addicted to drugs, committing crime and involving in other anti-social activities. Several families have become victims of this menace. It is an ardent request to youth/students not to fall prey to drugs and for parents to keep a watch on the activities of their children. Any person addicted to drugs and being blackmailed or exploited by the drug suppliers may please contact TS-Nab.”
