At least 50 Nigerians have been arrested in a transnational narcotics network crackdown in India. Those arrested are believed to be linked to a sprawling drug-distribution and hawala laundering syndicate spread across several major cities in the Asian country.
The operation, which was led by the Delhi Police in collaboration with the Telangana Police’s EAGLE unit, is the largest coordinated international crackdown in India.
Months of intelligence gathering culminated in days of simultaneous raids across Delhi, leading officers to dismantle key layers of a cartel moving methamphetamine and cocaine across the country.
The cartel maintained an extensive customer base using encrypted communication and delivery methods modelled after food-delivery apps to execute drug “dead drops” and avoid face-to-face exchanges.
Officials also disclosed that the syndicate’s distribution chain was intertwined with a sex-trade ring, which provided both cover and logistics for drug circulation, extending the criminal reach of the cartel.
More than 2,000 people were identified as those supplied with drugs through courier and dead-drop methods and proceeds were converted into goods, including garments and human hair, which were exported to Lagos, Nigeria, disguising the drug earnings as legitimate trade.
“One identified kingpin is suspected to have laundered at least ₹15 crore through these hawala channels alone,” the report added.
The arrests marked a pivotal moment in multi-agency efforts to root out these persistent drug cartels.
PUNCH Metro had earlier reported multiple arrests of Nigerians in India over synthetic-drug trafficking, including seizures in Bengaluru, Delhi and Goa, where foreign nationals were linked to methamphetamine circuits.
The latest coordinated crackdown, which resulted in the arrest of 50 suspects of Nigerian nationality, is now regarded by Indian police as a major step toward disrupting what they described as an “entrenched and continually evolving” narcotics supply chain.
Police officials said the next phase of the investigation will focus on tightening immigration checks, tracking hawala facilitators, and identifying remaining cartel commanders believed to be operating from outside Indi
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