16 January,2025 07:37 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
A Nigerian national was arrested allegedly with mephedrone worth Rs 66.18 lakh in Maharashtra's Thane district, a police official said on Thursday, reported the PTI.
John James Francis alias Onah Chiedozie Ethelber alias John Ezugwa Francis (45), a resident of Masjid Bunder in south Mumbai, was held by the Thane Crime Branch's Anti Narcotics Cell on a tip off from Desai Naka on January 12, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amarsingh Jadhav told newsmen.
"We seized 661.80 grams of mephedrone worth Rs 66.18 lakh. He has been charged under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act as well as Foreign Nationals Act and Passport Act. The Shil Daighar police is probing further," Jadhav said, according to the PTI.
A probe has found that he had served six years in jail in an NDPS case registered by Mumbai police and once again took to drug peddling after being released on November 13, 2024, the official informed.
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Apart from the drug peddling angle, the police is also investigating who helped him get Indian ID cards using forged documents, the official added.
Two Nigerians among 4 held in Maharashtra's Thane and Palghar for drug possession; cocaine, MD seized
Meanwhile, in an another incident, four individuals, including two Nigerian nationals, were arrested in separate cases of drug possession in Thane and Palghar districts of Maharashtra, the police said on Tuesday, reported the PTI.
Banned narcotics, including cocaine and MD (mephedrone), valued at more than Rs 12.80 lakh, were seized from their possession during the operations carried out last week, they said.
In the first operation, Crime Unit V acted on a tip-off and set a trap at Wagle Estate in Thane city. The operation resulted in the arrest of three suspects - Nigerian national Onyedikachi Precious Ikechukwu, 24, and two others, Alam Abid Shaikh, 27, and Usman alias Sonu Abdul Kadir Sheikh, 37, said the police, according to the PTI.
Cocaine weighing 101.16 grams and valued at Rs 10,12,000 was recovered from them, said the police, adding an FIR was registered against the trio under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
In the second operation, the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police, acting on a tip-off, laid a trap at Nalasopara in Palghar city and apprehended a Nigerian national, identified as Anthony Chijiko Nyafore, 46, said the police.
His search led to the recovery of 22.02 grams of MD, a synthetic stimulant drug, valued at Rs 2,69,340, they said.
An FIR under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act has been registered in the case.
(with PTI inputs)
