NAVI MUMBAI: The Navi Mumbai police arrested a 41-year-old Nigerian national in Taloja on Thursday after recovering mephedrone and cocaine worth ₹ 3.57 crore from him and his residence, following a tip-off to the Anti-Narcotics Cell.
Equipment and other materials allegedly used in the drug trade were also seized. The operation was led by senior police inspector Sandeep Nigade of the Anti-Narcotics Cell. The seizure comes amid a wider crackdown on drug trafficking in Navi Mumbai. Police have invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against two gangs allegedly involved in the narcotics trade and initiated proceedings under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act against a man and a woman.
The accused, Ani Ikechukwu Darlington, a resident of Rohinjan village in Taloja, was found with 221 gm of mephedrone worth ₹ 6.63 lakh, said assistant commissioner of police Dr Vishal Hire. A subsequent search of his residence led to the seizure of another 2.276 kg of mephedrone valued at ₹ 68.28 lakh and 566 gm of cocaine worth ₹ 2.83 crore. Darlington was arrested around 9.30pm and booked at Taloja police station under Sections 8(c), 21(c) and 22(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Police said Darlington had earlier been booked by the Mumbai unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau in an NDPS case registered in 2019. He spent seven years in prison in connection with that case before being released on bail in 2025.
