Delhi Police bust Nigerian-run drug syndicate; drugs worth ₹5 cr seized
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has busted an international drug-trafficking syndicate operated by Nigerians with the arrest of two foreign nationals and seizure of cocaine and MDMA worth around Rs 5 crore, an officer said on Sunday.
The arrests were made by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch in a coordinated operation carried out in different parts of the city.
Police seized 418 grams of cocaine and 925 tablets of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, during the operation.
According to police, the Crime Branch was closely monitoring the activities of drug suppliers active in Delhi.
"On December 2 last year, the unit received specific information that a Nigerian national, previously involved in NDPS cases, had resumed supplying psychotropic substances in south Delhi," the police officer said.
A team launched technical and manual surveillance and the suspect was found to be constantly changing his locations across south and southwest Delhi to evade detection, he added.
"The team conducted a raid and arrested Frank Vitus Ume, recovering a substantial quantity of cocaine and MDMA tablets from his possession. A case under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act was registered and further investigation taken up," the officer said.
During interrogation, Ume disclosed that he was part of an organised drug-supply network operating in Delhi and adjoining states. A technical analysis of his mobile phone and further investigation led police to another Nigerian national, Sunday Otuu, who was residing in the Mehrauli area.
Otuu was arrested from his rented accommodation and 15 ecstasy tablets were seized from his possession. Police said Otuu was supplying drugs to Ume and acting as a link between the local distributor and the kingpin based in Nigeria.
Investigations revealed that the syndicate used WhatsApp numbers registered abroad and avoided direct contact between handlers and couriers to evade law-enforcement agencies. The drugs were reportedly delivered through intermediaries, including a woman, a foreign national based in Delhi, police said.
According to police, both accused came to India on business visas several years ago and later, became involved in drug trafficking due to financial difficulties.
Further investigation is on to identify the other members of the syndicate and trace the source of the narcotics, the officer added.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
