Drug cartel busted, three foreigners among 10 held

The Delhi Police, in collaboration with the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau, claimed to have busted a drug syndicate and arrested 10 peddlers, including three foreign nationals, supplying narcotics through courier service, officials said on Friday. The police also claimed to have recovered narcotics worth Rs 12 crore from their possession.

According to the police, the transnational drug cartel run predominantly by African nationals would conceal contraband in the collar of the shirts they couriered.

Three months ago, the Telangana Police busted a drug supply module in Hyderabad, uncovering a network that used courier services to transport narcotics, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Surender Kumar said. “During investigation, it was found that the drugs were being sourced from Delhi and supplied to Telangana. Multiple raids were carried out across Delhi-NCR, leading to the arrest of the 10 accused,” Kumar said.

Delhi and Telangana Police teams, formed after days of technical and manual surveillance, carried out raids at several locations, including Mehrauli, Sant Garh, Nilothi, Pratap Enclave, Greater Noida, Munirka and Uttam Nagar.

During a raid in the Mohan Garden area, a Ugandan national, Zainab Kyobutungi, alias Pamela (35), was arrested with 195 grams of cocaine, 24 grams of MDMA and Rs 40,500. A case was registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, officials said.

A Nigerian national, Bekki, alias Bekee (49), was arrested in another raid at Sant Garh in Tilak Nagar. The police said 5,209 ecstasy pills, 35.46 grams of cocaine and Rs 78,000 were seized from her. She allegedly disclosed supplying drugs to another Nigerian national, Frank, who was later arrested in Chander Vihar with 60 MD pills, the police added.

The arrest of Jean Ahmad, alias Godwin, who was wanted by the Telangana Police, led to the recovery of 106.38 grams of cocaine and 107.83 grams of heroin from his locked house. Separate FIRs were registered in connection with these seizures.

The joint teams also arrested several Indian nationals who allegedly acted as key facilitators, managing finances, providing SIM cards and supporting logistics for the cartel. Those arrested include Badruddin and his wife, Sama Umar, residents of Greater Noida, and Zafar from Mehrauli, who allegedly handled drug money.

Titing Guite, S Joshua Guite and Lal Khosei Selien, residents of Delhi, were arrested for procuring and supplying SIM cards using fraudulent credentials to enable anonymous communication for peddlers, the police said.

During the raids, 30 foreign nationals, including 12 women, were found overstaying without valid documents. They were residing in rental accommodations. The men were shifted to deportation facility, while process to shift the women was underway, the officials added.