Two Nigerian nationals held with 355 grams of cocaine worth Rs 70 lakh in S Delhi

Two persons with African origin were arrested with 355 grams of high-quality cocaine worth Rs 70 lakh by the Delhi Police, an official said on Friday.

The police said that the accused have been identified as Nigerian national Benjam Izuchukwu (43) and Côte D’Ivoire national Coulibaly Mariam (29), who were apprehended during a raid at their rented accommodation in Chattarpur on Wednesday.

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The arrests were made based on an FIR registered under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Mehrauli police station.

The operation was launched after specific intelligence inputs received about the duo’s involvement in drug distribution. A team carried out the raid and seized the contraband along with an electronic weighing machine and packaging materials.

“During the interrogation, Benjamin disclosed that he came to India in 2018 and entered the drug trade after meeting another African national in Dwarka in 2021,” said Ankit Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner of Police.

“He confessed that he had recently purchased 600 grams of cocaine from a supplier named Joseph, of which 250 grams had already been sold. The remaining 355 grams were recovered during the raid,” the officer mentioned during a press briefing.

Chauhan told reporters that the accused were selling cocaine at Rs 10,000 per gram after procuring it for ₹8,000 per gram. Orders were placed through WhatsApp, and deliveries were handled by Mariam.

Payments were funnelled through UPI transactions to small retail shops, from where Benjamin later collected the cash, in an attempt to obscure the money trail.

Adding to his statement, he said that the financial data retrieved from their mobile phones is being examined to track international money transfers.

Efforts are underway to identify their local contacts and upstream suppliers.

The arrests came amid intensified action under the Nasha Mukta Bharat Abhiyan, aimed at curbing the narcotics trade in the capital.

The police said further investigation is in progress to dismantle the wider supply network linked to the accused.