New Delhi: A Sunday raid by the Delhi Police Crime Branch in Dwarka's Goyala Dairy, based on a tip-off about 'drug hawking', led to the arrest of a drug peddler as well as eight African nationals, including two women, all of whom were staying in India without a valid documents.
According to police, the search was conducted in a multi-storey building in Goyala Dairy's Qutub Vihar area, during which Ugochukwv John – a most-wanted Nigerian drug peddler – was nabbed and 100 gm of fine quality heroin was recovered from the bedroom of his flat.
"Eight other African nationals, including two women, have also been arrested from other flats in the building, who were staying in the country without any valid passport and visa. The estimated value of seized heroin in the international market is Rs 20 lakh," said Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) AK Singla.
Singla added that on August 30, Harpreet Singh, the Assistant Inspector General of Special Task Force, Punjab Police, shared an tip with the Crime Branch of Delhi Police that they have arrested an African man with one kg of heroin.
They shared some basic details of another an African national, believed to be the main drug supplier in the aforementioned case as well as one of the lynchpins of the 'drug vending' racket in the northern states including Delhi.
On Sunday morning, a team of the Inter-border Gangs Investigation Squad from the Crime Branch, formed under the supervision of ACP Aditya Gautam and overall guidance of DCP Bhisham Singh, raided the multi-storey building.
According to police, the arrested accused revealed they had come to India on business and/or student visas, but did not return back to their native countries after expiration of the visa and continued staying in the country illegally.
Ugochukwv John had come from Nigeria to India in 2012 on a business visa for six months, but did not return after it expired.
In those six months, he continuously visited and stayed in Delhi, Goa, Mumbai and Chennai, trying to start a garment business. But, his business was not profitable.
Soon, he started supplying drugs to make easy money and he developed a good inter-state network, spanning across the northern states.
He had earlier been arrested in Goa in 2016, in a case of fake passport and visa but secured bail. His further involvements all over India are being verified.