Navi Mumbai Crime: Drugs worth Rs 1 cr seized in house raid; 16 arrested

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The Navi Mumbai Police on Friday arrested 16 foreign nationals and seized drugs worth R1 crore from a house in Kharghar. The drug seized in the raid included heroine, cannabis and methaqualone. All the arrested accused were living without any valid passports and had come to collect a consignment to distribute on a smaller scale during new year parties, police officials said.

Vijay Shinge, police sub-inspector attached to the Anti-Narcotics Cell, first received a tip off about a drug peddler named Kingsley arriving at a row house at Sector 12, Kharghar on Friday to distribute drugs to other peddlers. The information was relayed to superiors, and a trap was laid near the row house. Around 7.45 pm, the police noticed five men and two women coming out of the house.

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A team immediately nabbed them, while other teams barged into the house, where they found nine more persons. "Ten men and six women all belonging to African countries have been arrested. The accused belong to Ghana, Cameron, Nigeria, and Uganda" said DCP (Crime) Amit Kale, adding, "The row house is owned by a Nigerian national named Shankar; he is absconding." The accused didn't have any valid documents or passports and were living illegally in the country.

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No of mobile phones seized during the raid