International drug syndicate busted in Bengaluru, 6 held with meth worth Rs 21 crore
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police busted an international drug syndicate in Bengaluru, allegedly run by individuals hailing from Kerala. Six people, including two Nigerian nationals and a woman, were arrested, and nearly seven kilograms of methamphetamine worth Rs 21 crore was recovered, an official said on Wednesday.
The accused were identified as Suhail A M (31) and Sujin K S (32), both from Kerala; Nigerian nationals Tobi Nwoyeke, alias Deco (35), and Chikwado Nnake Kingsley (29); along with a Bengaluru-based couple, Md Zaheed (29) and his wife Suha Fatima, alias Neha (29), the police said.
"The syndicate had a strong supply chain linking Delhi, Bengaluru and Kerala, with the Nigerians playing the role of suppliers and the Bengaluru-based accused financing and distributing the drugs. The syndicate allegedly targeted students, IT professionals and other youth across South India," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Harsh Indora said.
Acting on a tip-off from the Kerala Police, the Crime Branch unit mounted surveillance on Suhail, a history-sheeter wanted in multiple NDPS cases, the officer added.
"On July 19, our team received information about Suhail's presence in Delhi. He and his aide Sujin were tracked down to a guesthouse in southwest Delhi. A raid was conducted, and nearly six kilograms (5,950 grams) of methamphetamine (meth) was seized from the duo. Upon interrogation, they disclosed that they were supplying the contraband from Delhi to Bengaluru and other parts of Kerala," the DCP said.
The DCP further mentioned that during interrogation, the duo disclosed their source was a Nigerian national who operated through social media and other online platforms. The team traced the Nigerian suspect to Delhi and, after an extensive search, located him in the Mohan Garden area.
"The suspect, identified as Tobi Nwoyeke alias Deco, was arrested with 64 grams of meth. A search of his rented accommodation in Chhatarpur yielded another 865 grams of the drug. Deco told the police that he had been living in Bengaluru for several years and was supplying meth to Suhail. Following a crackdown on drug suppliers in Bengaluru, he had recently relocated to Delhi," the DCP stated.
Deco further revealed that the kingpin of the operation is based in Nigeria, and the consignments were being routed through African nationals living in India, DCP Indora said.
Subsequently, a team was dispatched to Bengaluru, where the financiers of the racket were believed to be operating. After days of surveillance, the team traced and arrested the couple -- Fatima and Zaheed -- from a PG accommodation in Bommanahalli.
According to the police, Fatima was introduced to the drug trade through her first husband, who was a drug addict. After remarrying Zaheed, the couple financed Suhail's drug consignments. They admitted to initially purchasing smaller quantities from him before escalating to larger deals. Further investigations led the police to Greater Noida, where another Nigerian national, identified as Kingsley, was arrested in Sector 1. Kingsley revealed he had come to India in 2015 under the pretext of seeking medical treatment, but later got involved in drug trafficking.
"He named two other Nigerian nationals, Ajuko and Chigmo, as his associates, indicating that Ajuko had returned to Nigeria and was operating the network remotely," DCP Indora further said.
Further details provided by the police revealed that Suhail began as a drug consumer in 2019 after returning from Dubai. Within a year, he had built a network and adopted the "dead drop" method, where he left drug packets in secluded areas and shared pictures and locations with buyers to evade detection.
Initially, he sold smaller, non-commercial quantities to avoid detection but transitioned to commercial-scale trade. In 2024, several members of his syndicate were arrested by the Kerala Police in different cases. Sujin, his close associate, was a former salesman and cab driver who joined Suhail in pursuit of quick money, the police noted.
According to the police, Deco, the Nigerian national, came to India in 2018 as a student and gradually began selling meth to students and IT professionals. He sourced his supply from another Nigerian, Ogo, alias Obichi, who operates from Greater Noida. The Bengaluru-based couple, Fatima and Zaheed, facilitated larger transactions, enabling Suhail to expand his network, while Kingsley acted as a supplier, procuring shipments from Nigerians running the operation abroad.
In total, the police recovered 6,895 grams of drugs during the multi-state operation, with the seized drugs valued at over Rs 21 crore in the international market. Further investigation into the matter is underway, the police said.
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Illegal sand mining has created environmental crisis in National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal riverbed sand mining has created an "environmental crisis" and wreaked "havoc" in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, causing a grave risk to the gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation project.
Slamming the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for their utter failure in dealing with the issue, the apex court directed them to install high-resolution Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining in the area.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that live feed of such surveillance cameras shall be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the superintendent of police or the senior superintendent of police of the concerned district and the divisional forest officer.
It said these officers shall ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.
"It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote," Justice Mehta said while pronouncing the order.
The bench directed the authorities in these three states to initiate prompt and necessary action under law if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light.
It said the authorities shall ensure seizure of vehicles or machinery found involved in illegal sand mining and also initiate prosecution of persons involved in it.
The bench, which passed several other directions, posted the matter for hearing on May 11.
The top court passed the order in a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area.
Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance of news reports about rampant illegal sand mining on the banks of the Chambal river.
