Nigerian held for peddling drugs

Crime branch officials have arrested a Nigerian national for drug possession and peddling. He is the third arrested accused of the gang that attacked over 70 officials in an operation conducted to curb growing instances of drug selling in Wadi Bunder area.

The accused identified as Ugwu Ugochukwu Stanley (33) was caught from near P D’Mello road. While he did not have any drugs on his person, sources say he is part of the same gang of about 20 people and was a close aide of the two arrested last week.

On April 29, over growing complaints of foreign nationals peddling drugs in the stretch between Byculla and P D’Mello Road and adjacent to railway tracks of Masjid and Sandhurst stations, the crime branch with over 70 officials raided the area. While they found 20 foreign nationals, only two, Infunanya Ginika Minke (37) and Ique Chikwneni Emaniyal (24), were arrested and the remaining escaped. The operation left seven policemen injured after the foreign nationals pelted them with stones.

The police has also booked the accused under the attempt to murder sections of the Indian Penal Code. “The foreign nationals are very athletic and they will do anything to escape arrest. Many of our teams were attacked previously too when they tried to nab them. In fact one of the accused bit the hand of a policemen and he needed stitches,” said a crime branch officer.

Sources say the previously arrested accused have not yet revealed where they had stayed while in the city. “They just point to slums and railway stations, knowing that we can’t trace them. In fact, they even fear their own brethren and are scared that if they reveal details, they will be killed by the other gang members,” he added.

Sources say the area near Wadi Bunder has become a hotbed for drug peddlers. “Most of them are foreign nationals and they openly sell cocaine and don’t display any fear or worry about being caught by the authorities,” an officer said.

To curb these activities, the police is also approaching other departments to look at bettering the facilities in the area.

A senior police officer had previously said that they were going to write to the BMC, RPF and Railways to install better lighting and streetlights in the area near railways station of Masjid, Sandhurst Road, Dockyard Road, among others.