Hyderabad: A 32-year-old Nigerian national was arrested here on Saturday for allegedly peddling cocaine and 178 grams of the narcotic concealed in a chocolate health drink bottle was seized from him, officials of Prohibition and Excise said. Acting on specific information regarding cocaine transportation and selling, an official team led by State Task Force raided a place in Vanasthalipuram and caught the Nigerian and seized the cocaine.
The Nigerian national came to Hyderabad three days ago in a private bus from Bengaluru. He had brought 200 grams of cocaine with him and allegedly sold 22 grams out of it, an official said adding that he was staying "illegally" in India after his visa expired recently. The accused, who was earlier arrested in May 2022 from here on charges of drug peddling was subsequently released on bail. He had then claimed that he was a Ghana national but during course of investigation it was found that he was carrying a fake passport of Ghana country, the official said.
During investigation, it was further revealed that the accused was using VOIP phone, besides he had bought about 400 SIM cards in the last three months using fake documents. A case was registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 and he was arrested, the officials said. (PTI)
