Bengaluru drug bust: Nigerian woman arrested, MDMA worth ₹10 cr. recovered

Chikkajala police arrest Nigerian woman with 5.325 kgs of MDMA crystals worth ₹10 crore in Bengaluru drug bust.

In a major drug haul, Chikkajala police and sleuths from the Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested a Nigerian woman named Princess, 25, and recovered 5.325 kgs of MDMA crystals worth ₹10 crore from her in Bengaluru.

Acting on a tip-off regarding a foreign national trying to peddle drugs in Chikkajala, the police raided and detained Princess on Tuesday, June 10.

She had reached Bengaluru by bus from Delhi the same day, police revealed. Apart from the MDMA crystals, an iPhone and a bag full of new churidars were also recovered.

Officials said that Princess, the daughter of a civil servant in Nigeria, came to Delhi on a business visa on October 4, 2021, and later availed a student visa claiming to study in Hyderabad. However, it has now emerged that she did not get admitted to any college, and instead got involved in drug peddling. Her visa has expired, police said. 

Princess claimed that she was only a mule, carrying a bag from Delhi and delivering it to Bengaluru on the instructions of her friend based out of Nigeria. While the city police are trying to identify her associate, they are not buying the theory that she is innocent.

This case comes months after Mangaluru police seized 37.878 kgs of MDMA crystals worth ₹75 crore from Electronics City and arrested two South African nationals in March earlier this year.

To mark International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26, the city police have taken up an awareness campaign, which will not only include walkathons and events at schools and colleges, but also workshops about early intervention and rehabilitation of addicts. These workshops will feature experts and former addicts who have kicked the habit. This year’s theme is titled: ‘Breaking the Chains: Prevention, Treatment and Recovery for All’.