Delhi Police seizes heroin worth Rs 13 crore, busts international drug syndicate

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Three African nationals were arrested in Dwarka for allegedly running an international drug syndicate and heroin worth Rs 13 crore was seized from their possession, police said on Wednesday.

Stanley Chimeize Alasonye (41), the mastermind of the drug syndicate, Henry Okolie (41) and Uchechukwu Peter Igbonaju (37) were arrested with 1 kg and 300 gram of heroin, they said.

According to the police, the gang was recently active in Uttam Nagar and Mohan Garden.

The accused were intruders and lived here without valid visas, they said.

The contraband was smuggled in India from Nigeria via Russia through Indian ports, the police said.

Dwarka Deputy Commissioner of Police Shankar Choudhary said based on a tip-off, the police laid a trap in Mohan Garden on October 1 and arrested Okolie and Igbonaju with 1 kg heroin.

The two came to India in 2019 via Bangladesh and during interrogation, they told the police that the contraband came from Africa through Russia and then it reached India, the officer said.

The accused said some times, the narcotic drug was smuggled into the country from Bangladesh and Nepal.

”Big vendors contacted the retailers through virtual numbers and supplied the drugs at the retailer’s locations here. The arrested African nationals rented two rooms on different floors in the Mohan Garden area. They lived on the ground floor and had set up a factory on the top floor, from where chemicals and instruments used in mixing heroin were seized,” the DCP said.

On their instance, Alasonye was arrested on October 4 and 300 gms of heroin was seized from his possession, he said.

”Alasonye procured the drug from an African vendor and has a large customer base in Delhi,” Choudhary added.

The police said further investigation is underway and efforts are being made to nab their associates. (PTI)