The Special Cell of Delhi police busted a three‑man international drug cartel on Friday. The ring, comprising two Nigerians and an Ivorian, was supplying banned substances across India. According to the local media platform Bhaskar Live, the accused were Nnamani Ahukajude (44), a resident of Nilothi Extension, and Chinezie (34), a resident of Greater Noida, both Nigerians, along with Franck Oumar Ibrahim (40), a Côte d’Ivoire national who also lives in Greater Noida. The trio was linked to 14.5 kg of methaqualone worth Rs 60 crore (approximately N3.37 billion) in the international market.
Police said the cartel stored drugs in a house in a posh colony of Greater Noida. Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) HGS Dhaliwal noted that intelligence had indicated the involvement of several Delhi‑based persons of African origin in drug trafficking from Delhi‑NCR to other parts of the country. “A specific tip was received on 4 March about a Nigerian national arriving with a consignment of methaqualone near a petrol pump on the Dhaula Kuan‑Gurugram Expressway. A trap was laid and he was nabbed,” Dhaliwal said.
During the search of the trolley bag belonging to Nnamani, officers found 4.68 kg of methaqualone concealed in cardboard boxes and further wrapped in clothes. Nnamani admitted he was a member of a drug cartel run by persons of African origin in Delhi‑NCR and that he had procured the drugs from Franck Oumar Ibrahim of Côte d’Ivoire. Franck was arrested on 5 March near Mata Chanan Devi Hospital, Janakpuri, after Nnamani’s tip. A search of his car’s dickey yielded eight kilograms of methaqualone, and Franck disclosed that he received the drugs from another Greater Noida supplier, Chinezie.
Chinezie was arrested on 6 March outside the ONGC building in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. Police recovered 1.25 kg of methaqualone from the bag he was carrying and, after searching his rented house in Greater Noida, seized an additional 570 g. Interrogations revealed that the three men received methaqualone consignments from a person of African origin in Greater Noida and distributed the drugs mainly in INA Market, Vasant Kunj Mall, C‑1 Janakpuri and Vikaspuri in Delhi. They also sent drugs to Bangalore and Mumbai via carriers who travelled on long‑route buses from Dhaula Kuan to Ahmedabad, hiding the drugs in secret compartments of their bags. The cartel never used trains or planes while in possession of the drugs; after delivery, carriers returned to Delhi by air.
All three arrested suppliers have been involved in drug trafficking for more than two years and are staying in India illegally. Nnamani entered India in March 2022 on a six‑month tourist visa and did not leave after it expired. Franck arrived in January 2022 on a similar visa and also overstayed. Chinezie came to India in January 2018 on a six‑month tourist visa and has remained in the country without valid documents ever since.
Efforts are ongoing to identify and arrest the remaining members of the cartel, the Special CP added.
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