DRI nabs Nigerian operating drug syndicate from Greater Noida

MUMBAI: The Mumbai zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has nabbed the alleged financier and controller of a narcotics trafficking syndicate with international linkages, that operated from Uttar Pradesh

MUMBAI: The Mumbai zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has nabbed the alleged financier and controller of a narcotics trafficking syndicate with international linkages, that operated from Uttar Pradesh.

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The agency was on the trail of the arrested accused, a Nigerian national, since October 18 when it seized 2.8 kg cocaine from a syndicate member from the syndicate carrier at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai.

The alleged financier was arrested from his hideout in Greater Noida after a month-long surveillance using human and technical methods by the DRI to locate his whereabouts, agency sources said.

After the October 18 seizure of the cocaine consignment and the arrest of the carrier, the agency had carried out an in-depth probe to nab his controllers, which led to the tracing of the accused, the sources said. “The probe revealed that the Nigerian was a key member of this drug smuggling syndicate, who was financing and operating the syndicate’s activities from Greater Noida,” a DRI source said.

“After sustained efforts and surveillance for a couple of months, the officers managed to find the whereabouts of the accused and he was nabbed. He was produced before a Mumbai court on December 13,” the source said. The DRI unit based in Noida helped the agency’s Mumbai unit in the operation, the source said.

The DRI seized from the Nigerian multiple SIM cards, several mobile phones, and multiple passports issued from different countries that were allegedly in his possession. The accused was brought to the city on a transit remand and produced before a city court that remanded him to judicial custody.

“This operation signifies the dedication and professionalism of DRI as an enforcement agency to effectively bust the entire syndicate to safeguard the social fabric from the scourge of drugs,” the source said. The arrest of the Nigerian accused is a major success against the drug syndicates operating in the country, the source said.