Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad City Police have arrested a 36-year-old Nigerian national from Kerala for allegedly arranging a consignment of 1.85 kg of mephedrone seized in Ahmedabad in September, taking the investigation to the suspected main supplier in an interstate drug trafficking network.
The accused, identified as Charles alias Frank Ofudile, was arrested from Kottiyam in Kollam district of Kerala following technical analysis and inputs from human intelligence.
He is a native of Onitsha in Anambra State of Nigeria, and was reportedly residing near Banaswadi Fire Station in Bengaluru.
The case dates back to September 17, when the Naroda police arrested a 24-year-old man, identified as Nikhilesh Krishnappa, near Chamunda Tyre shop close to Nana Chiloda Circle in Ahmedabad.
The police recovered 1,850 grams of mephedrone, valued at Rs 55.5 lakh, and a mobile phone worth Rs 5,000 from his possession. The total value of the seized items was Rs 55.55 lakh.
During the investigation, the police learnt that the consignment was intended for delivery in Bengaluru.
Acting on information received through WhatsApp, a police team was sent to the city, where it kept surveillance on the suspected recipients. On September 19, the team arrested another accused, Vishal, 28, who had allegedly arrived to collect the drug consignment.
He is originally from East Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya and was residing in Ramamurthy Nagar of Bengaluru. Further investigation revealed that the consignment had been ordered by a Nigerian national named Frank.
The police traced his WhatsApp number and identified him as Charles alias Frank Ofudile. Naroda Police Station’s surveillance sub-inspector V R Chaudhary examined the case records and conducted technical analysis, with the help of human intelligence, to trace and arrest the accused in Kerala.
Police records also show that Ofudile was named in an earlier case registered at Nadakkavu Police Station in Kozhikode City, 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 Naroda police station under Sections 8(c), 22(c) and 29 of the NDPS Act.
–IANS
