3 Nigerians, Brazilian woman, held with cocaine worth `39cr
In a crackdown on drug peddling in Mumbai, Amboli police arrested four persons, including a Brazilian woman, and seized 6.5 kgs of cocaine worth Rs38,95,97,600 in Andheri West on Saturday night.
According to police, on a tip-off, a team, led by inspector Daya Nayak of Amboli police, laid a trap in Maurya Estate and arrested four accused. The three accused are from Nigeria. The accused were on their way to dispatch the consignment of the cocaine to Johannesburg, South Africa through courier. The accused are Niras Azubik Okhowo (35), Simon Agobata (32), Micheal Sundae Hop (29), and the Brazilian woman, Karle Pinto Ires (41). They resided at Kopar Khairane in Navi Mumbai. When police raided their house, they find that the cocaine was hidden in curtains and other things.
Notably, the Brazilian woman was released recently from the Byculla jail, sentenced in a similar case.
Police recovered from another a cash bail receipt of Rs80,000. He had been out on a bail. The accused was imprisoned under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act. The Nigerian man was arrested three years back in a drug deal.
Reportedly, the involvement of courier companies in the case is also under probe, said police.
Manoj Kumar Sharma, Additional Commissioner of Police (Western Region), said, “The cocaine was to be sent to South Africa in curtains and accessories. When raided the house, police seized curtains, rings, ribbons, cocaine plastics, ring press machines, other accessories and a few passports. Courier companies may also be involved in the syndicate. Probe is on. It will be too early to establish the role and names of the courier companies.”
Police said they are verifying the passports. The accused were booked under the NDPS Act and presented before a court on Sunday. The court remanded them in police custody for seven days.
The accused were on their way to dispatch the consignment of the cocaine weighing 6.5 kgs to Johannesburg, South Africa through a courier in Andheri.