29 February,2024 02:30 PM IST | Mumbai | Faizan Khan
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Officers from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested a Nigerian national who was a key member of a drug trafficking cartel operating from Goa, India, the agency said in its statement. Per the agency's statement, they had, earlier this year, seized 4.1 kg of cocaine from Mumbai International Airport and arrested a Thai national for attempting to smuggle drugs into India for the said syndicate.
"In a major success in knocking down the drug syndicates operating in the country, DRI officers nabbed one Nigerian national who was operating a drug trafficking cartel from Goa, India," the DRI statement read.
The DRI in their statement noted that following the arrest of the Thai national, they conducted an extensive analysis and investigation that led them to the Nigerian national who was located in a secluded area around Anjuna in north Goa. The sleuths said that they arrested him after a month-long surveillance and subsequent special operation.
"During further in-depth analysis and detailed financial and travel investigation, the Nigerian national, located in Goa, was identified as a key player of this syndicate who was operating and managing affairs of this international syndicate from Goa. After, continuous surveillance for a month, DRI was able to find his whereabouts - which was in a very secluded area around Anjuna, North Goa," it further read.
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During the operation, the accused attempted to flee into a dense forest nearby, prompting DRI officers to divide into teams and pursue him. After a dramatic chase lasting around 20 minutes, the suspect was arrested.
The statement further read, "Thereafter, the DRI team comprising officers from Mumbai and Goa carried out an operation to apprehend the accused. The accused got suspicious amid the operation and sprinted into a dense forest nearby. Unfamiliar with the forest trails, DRI officers divided themselves into separate teams and began to chase him down. One team continued the chase after him, while the other team systematically blocked the possible exit points. Finally, in a dramatic chase that lasted for around 20 minutes, the person was apprehended."
DRI officers seized 39 grams of cocaine, laboratory equipment, and unaccounted cash worth Rs 5,79,700 while checking his rented premises. The accused admitted to using laboratory equipment to adulterate cocaine and to his involvement in drug trafficking activities in India, the DRI said in their statement.
It was also discovered that the suspect had been arrested twice in NDPS cases and lived in India without legal paperwork. He has since been arrested, taken to Mumbai on transit remand, and is currently in judicial custody.
