3 days ago
TGANB apprehends Nigerian drug dealer, seizes drugs worth Rs 1.25 cr
Hyderabad: The Telangana Anti-Narcotic Bureau (TGANB) apprehended a Nigerian drug peddler who was in possession of psychotropic drug Cocaine and Ecstasy pills. Police seized drugs worth Rs 1.25 crore from his possession.
The arrested person was identified as Emmanuel Bediako Alias Maxwell (34). Police seized 150 grams of Cocaine, 1,100 Ecstasy pills and two mobile phones from him. Sunny and Onyeisi Romanus Ikechukwu of Nigeria are absconding.
According to police, Maxwell visited India three times. For the third visit, his total commission was around Rs 1.17 crore (210 million Nigerian Nairas).
During his first visit to India, from November 2013 to July 2022, he visited Bangalore on medical visa using his original name Omyeisi Esomchi Kenneth, but never went to Bangalore and it was fake.
From there he went to Goa, as per the instructions given by his cousin Romanus and stayed there. As long as he stayed in India, he was operating a mobile phone and carried on his drug business. During 2013 to 2022, he had sold drugs worth more than 2 crore. His commission was 20 per cent and earned almost Rs 40 lakh (72 million Niaras) during this period. In August 2021, he went back to Nigeria.
For the second time, on December 25, 2023, he arrived at Delhi on medical visa for Bangalore on the name of Ezuruike Chirotam Valentine. But he never went to Bangalore, and instead went to Goa and did drug business along with Romanus and went back to Nigeria in the month of July-2024. In seven months, he earned Rs 20 lakh. Police said that in his third visit in January 2025, Romanus advised Maxwell to go to India on Ghana passport by another name and deposited 2,000,000 Nairas in his bank account and asked him to go to Ghana and meet a person who will prepare his travel documents to India. On January 25, 2025, he came to Delhi, India on medical visa by using Ghana passport on the name of Bediako Emmanuel. After landing at Delhi, again he went to Goa and stayed there. He dealt with pure Cocaine and MDMA. He sold the pure Cocaine for a price of Rs 25,000 per gram and each Ecstasy pill for a price of Rs 6,000.
K Madhu Mohan Reddy, DSP TGANB said that in 2024-2025 till his arrest, he laundered money to the tune of 103 million Nigerian Nairas which was his commission for the sale of drugs. The drugs sold in India would be around 500 million Nigerian Nairas. The drugs that were being sold by the Nigerian drug cartels came from abroad and the drug money and profits were sent to Nigeria through an extensive money laundering channel involving an Indian Hawala operator and a Nigerian stationed in Mumbai.
He had provided almost 150 bank transactions to his boss Romanus, his wife and his brother in law, totaling about 103 million Nigerian Nairas. A few days back, Romanus instructed him to expand the business beyond Goa and suggested doing it in Hyderabad as there is a high customer base. He came to his friend's house in Sainikpuri and brought drugs to develop the network of local peddlers and consumers. On information, the sleuths of TGANB apprehended the accused in Sainikpuri.
