Mangaluru police arrest Nigerian national, seize MDMA worth ₹6 crore
The Hindu
Mangaluru police arrest Nigerian national with ₹6 crore worth of synthetic MDMA, largest drug seizure in anti-drugs campaign.
The Mangaluru police arrested a Nigerian national named Peter Ikedi Belonwu, 38, from Bengaluru and recovered 6.310 kg of synthetic MDMA narcotic drug worth ₹6 crore.
Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal told reporters on Monday, October 7, that it was the largest seizure of drugs by the city police in the ongoing ‘anti-drugs’ campaign. This is the second largest one by the State police, he said.
Mr. Agrawal said the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police went deep into the activities of alleged drug peddler Hyder alias Hyder Ali, 51, who was arrested on September 29, and other drug peddlers. They found evidence of Peter supplying drugs. The CCB team raided a flat at Dommasandra in Bengaluru and recovered MDMA worth ₹6 crore. The police recovered 35 ATM cards, 17 inactive sim cards and passbooks of 10 accounts.
The Police Commissioner said the recovered MDMA was in the crystal form. The MDMA was in 50 gm packets. These packets were being kept inside empty packets of chip and biscuit packets. “The accused was throwing the chip and biscuit packets in bins. The location of these bins was shared with drug peddler, who collected it and sold it further,” the officer said. The police recovered 40 such packets, he added.
It was in 1999 that Peter was found overstaying in India. In 2023, he was arrested by Bengaluru police in a case of alleged selling of narcotic drugs. “We know the person who sold drugs to Peter. We are searching for him,” he said.
The Commissioner said the ATM cards and bank passbook are in different names. The recovery of these articles, and inactive SIM cards, raises suspicion of accused’s alleged involvement in online fraud cases. The CCB is going deep into Peter’s activities, he said.
Till October 7 this year, the city police have seized 7.380 kg of MDMA, 161 kg of cannabis, and 92 gm of other drugs, which are worth ₹6.9 crore. As many as 114 persons were arrested in 65 cases this year. In all, 699 cases have been registered and 865 persons, including two Nigerian nationals, have been arrested so far by the city police in the ongoing ‘Anti-drugs’ drive.