Nigerian national arrested in Kerala in Ahmedabad drug case
Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad police have arrested a Nigerian national in Kerala in connection with the seizure of 1.85 kg of mephedrone in the city in September, uncovering what investigators believe to be a wider interstate drug supply network.
The accused, 36-year-old Charles alias Frank Ofudile, was detained from Kottiyam in Kollam district after investigators analysed digital evidence and received intelligence inputs. Originally from Onitsha in Nigeria’s Anambra State, he had reportedly been living near the Banaswadi Fire Station in Bengaluru.
The investigation began on September 17, when Naroda police arrested 24-year-old Nikhilesh Krishnappa near a tyre shop close to Nana Chiloda Circle in Ahmedabad. Officers seized 1,850 grams of mephedrone, valued at Rs 55.5 lakh, and a mobile phone worth Rs 5,000, taking the total value of the recoveries to Rs 55.55 lakh.
Police later found that the consignment was allegedly meant to be delivered in Bengaluru. Using information gathered from WhatsApp, a team was sent to the city to monitor suspected recipients.
On September 19, officers arrested 28-year-old Vishal, who had allegedly arrived to collect the consignment. A resident of Ramamurthy Nagar in Bengaluru, he is originally from East Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya.
During further questioning, investigators learnt that the consignment had been ordered by a Nigerian national known only as Frank. Police traced the WhatsApp number linked to the order and identified the accused as Charles alias Frank Ofudile.
Naroda Police Station’s surveillance sub-inspector, V R Chaudhary, examined the case records and carried out technical analysis, aided by human intelligence, before tracing and arresting the accused in Kerala.
Police records also show that Ofudile was named in an earlier case registered at the Nadakkavu Police Station in Kozhikode, Kerala, under Sections 8(c), 22(c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The Ahmedabad case has been registered at the Naroda police station under the same provisions of the NDPS Act.
(Inputs from IANS)