Thane: Nigerian national held with drugs worth Rs 1.12 cr

Thane: Police have arrested a Nigerian national here in Maharashtra and seized drugs worth Rs 1.12 crore from him, a senior official said on Monday.

A car, six mobile phones, an electronic weighing machine, collectively worth Rs 5,38,360, and a Nigerian passport were also seized from his possession, the official said.

Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a trap and nabbed the accused, identified as Dixon Chidibero Ije (30), near the gate of a hotel on Ghodbunder Road in Thane city last Thursday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Laxmikant Patil told reporters here.

The police seized 274 gm of cocaine and 60 gm of MD powder, collectively valued at Rs 1.12 crore, from the accused, who was staying in Chandivali area of neighbouring Mumbai, he said.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused procured cocaine from African countries and sold it in Thane and Mumbai to many customers, he said.

The police were trying to find out from where he sourced the other contraband and two whom he wanted to sell the drugs, the official said.

A case was registered against the accused under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Foreigners Act, the police said.

He was produced before a local magistrate who remanded him in police custody till February 1, they said.