Nigerian man arrested in India for using postal services to smuggle drugs

A certain Nigerian man, Frank William, has been arrested by India’s Narcotics Control Bureau, NCB, in a joint operation with the Anti-Narcotics Cell, ANC in South Mumbai for his involvement in smuggling and peddling of cocaine in the city, The Times of India City reports.

William reportedly belongs to an international drug racket, using postal services to smuggle drugs and contraband.

The cocaine found in is possession when he was arrested at the weekend, weighed 600gm and was worth between Rs 4 crore and Rs 4.8 crore( $640,000-$719,500) and concealed in the axle of a vehicle that was sent via post from Latin America.

Confirming the arrests, Dhananjay Kulkarni, DCP, Detection, Mumbai police said the NCB received a tip-off that a parcel containing drugs was to arrive in India.

Kulkarni said the NCB tied up with the postal services and ANC and trailed the consignment for nearly a week as it passed through two to three countries.

When the parcel reached a post office at Khoparkhairane in Navi Mumbai, the officers laid a trap and arrested the Nigerian, when he came to collect it.

“We could have stopped the parcel at the Foreign Post Office as all post parcels are routed through it but we played along so we could reach the recipient.

“The demand for cocaine is increasing in the city,” Kulkarni said, adding that international drug peddlers send parcels through postal services or courier companies and provide the wrong KYC and address of the recipient.

The Zonal Director of NCB, Sanjay Jha, speaking on the incident, said “They (drug peddlers) track the parcel online. When it reaches its destination city, it lies at the post office as the address is wrong.

“The recipient then picks it up from the post office.

“We have apprised the postal department to install CCTV cameras and collect carbon copies of the ID proofs and Know Your Customer, KYC of the sender and receiver.

“The customs department said that it is not possible to scan all parcels sent to India through courier services.

“The sheer volume makes it difficult. So, we carry out random checks,” Jha added.

The report claims that the NCB had recently written to the postal authorities and even private courier services asking them to insist on verifying the KYC of the parcel sender and receiver

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