The Narcotics Control Bureau in Bengaluru busted a cocaine trafficking network in the city and arrested four foreigners in connection with it. The arrests include Irene Omoibe, a 26-year-old Nigerian woman, who was travelling from Mumbai to Bengaluru by an SRS Travels interstate passenger bus on Thursday.
NCB officials intercepted her based on a tip-off after she got down from the bus at Kalasipalya bus stand in the city at around 5:30 pm. Officials questioned her after they found that she was carrying 400 grams of cocaine to deliver to other members of the network. She then divulged the location of the people she was delivering the cocaine to.
The cocaine was found wrapped in brown duct tape, according to pictures released by the NCB.
The NCB then tracked down two Nigerians and one Sudanese man who were all waiting in a car in Kammanahalli on Friday.
The kingpin of the smuggling operation is suspected to be Nwanoro Chigbo Victor, one of the two men who were waiting for Irene in the car, while Kenneth Jideofol, who was the second man sitting with Victor, is a repeat offender. He is involved in four other NDPS cases and was out on bail.
Antwan Faisal Mohammed is the fourth person arrested by officials.
According to officials, the cocaine was given to the woman by few foreigners in Mumbai but officials are yet to track them down.
Officials suspect that all four people arrested do not have proper documents and ID and are not staying in the country legally.
Bengaluru police have seized over 600 kg of illegal drugs since the beginning of 2018. The police and the Narcotics Control Bureau, have stepped up surveillance in bus stops and railway stations in the city. They have also identified areas like Kammanahalli, Banaswadi, Mathikere and Kodigehalli as secluded areas in the city's suburbs as hotspots for illegal cocaine trade.