Drugs from Belgium, France landing in Hyderabad, customs dept. told to amp up vigilance

Hyderabad drug bust reveals international drug network involving Nigerian national, with links to Belgium and Paris.

Synthetic drugs and ‘Ocean Grown Weed’, also known as ‘OG Kush’ in local slang, from Belgium and Paris in France found their way to Hyderabad through the network of a Nigerian national held earlier this month by the Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TSNAB) and the Panjagutta police. Officials from the bureau said the customs department was notified to be on alert about suspicious parcels as the network mainly works on international shipments.

The TSNAB has been questioning Iwuala Udoka Stanley (43), a native of Anambra in Nigeria who was caught with drugs worth about ₹8 crore, including 557 grams of cocaine; 902 ecstasy pills weighing about 390 grams; 105 LSD blots; 215 grams of charas; 21 grams of heroin; seven grams of amphetamine; 45 grams of OG Kush; and 190 grams of marijuana. Eight cell phones were also seized from him.

“With the latest developments in the case, we have established links from Belgium and Paris. The drugs were being shipped from these places to Maharashtra 10 times over the past six months alone. They were received by Saurav, who used the identity cards of his family [members] to supply it further to Mr. Stanley and his network across the country. The shipments from abroad were sent via two international courier services,” said the officials.

Two undertrial prisoners from Goa’s Colvale jail, now identified as Okra, a Nigerian national, and Faisal, had been running the racket from the prison premises.

Following an alert by the Telangana police, the Goa police and the prison department did a sweep on the premises and found 16 phones from the inmates. “A report by the Forensic Science Laboratory has come back with details of each device. We will be using that to corroborate and identify more links in the drug network,” added the officials. 

Currently, 44 foreigners are lodged in the Colvale jail. The TSNAB has alerted the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to keep an eye on their movements.

Mr. Stanley ran the drug trade from North Goa and claimed to have 511 customers across the country. Officials are trying to identify the suppliers from Belgium and Paris. Mr. Stanley’s network was based out of Goa and catered to clients in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad.