3 Nigerians held in Thane, drugs worth Rs 27 lakh seized

THANE: The Thane crime branch Unit- 5 arrested three Nigeria nationals carrying 60 grams of cocaine and 70 grams of MD powder collectively worth Rs 27 lakh, probably for selling to potential customers for New Year eve parties, officials informed Saturday.
Senior inspector Vikas Ghodake of Thane crime branch Unit- 5 was tipped off about the trio and subsequently laid a trap to arrest them near the Eastern Express highway service lane, Saturday wee hours. The police said they are now investigating if the trio, identified as Mango Stanley (45), Prasper Vachuku (44) and Sunday Boteng (25) by the police, were targeting potential customers in posh locales of Thane for sale ahead of Christmas and New Year weekends.
“We were tipped off about the possibility of some African nationals operating in the area and the possibility of them getting active ahead of the Christmas and New Year weekends. We accordingly laid traps in the posh locales of Thane and finally trapped them from the Eastern Express highway. We recovered 60 grams of cocaine and 70 grams of MD power from their possession. We are investigating the case further,” informed Ghodake.
A case was registered against the trio with the Wagle estate police under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
It may be noted that Thane police is on the alert and is tracking drug peddlers considering the possibility of sale of the contraband in the city and suburbs during parties usually held ahead of the New Year eve and Christmas holiday season.