14 Nigerians arrested for drug peddling

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Mumbai: At least 14 Nigerian nationals were arrested for drug peddling and contraband worth Rs 21 lakh and a pistol were seized from them, police said on Thursday.

Some of the had illegally entered India from Bangladesh, they said.

A raid was carried by the Byculla police on the railway tracks of Chinchpokli in Central Mumbai in which they caught seven Nigerian nationals with narcotics on December 15.

After interrogation, police got information about more Nigerian nationals, who are into drug peddling and hiding at Mira Road in neighbouring Thane district, said Dinesh Kadam, senior inspector, Byculla police station.

Acting on the information, a police team later arrested seven other Nigerians who had fired on cops, injuring four of them, he said.

The police recovered drugs worth Rs 21 lakh, a 32 bore pistol and Rs 41,000 in cash from the arrested Nigerians, Kadam said.

The seized drugs included 550 grams of MD (is a common recreational drug), 110 grams of brown sugar and 55 grams of cocaine, he said.

The police also recovered 10 cartridges, seven passports whose visas had expired, USD 200, a button knife, a digital weighing machines and two mobile phones, he added.

A scrutiny of the passports revealed their holders had landed in Bangladesh and then illegally entered India, Kadam said.