Nigerian players move narcotics business to outskirts of Mumbai

Multiple operations by antidrug authorities may have snuffed out the businesses of several drug lords in Mumbai but it has resulted in the cityrsquos borders becoming breeding grounds for the illegal trade with many African nationals particularly Nigerians at the helm The operators have managed to stay in India despite their visas expiringA senior crime branch officer from Mumbai police told midday ldquoThese drug suppliers have been staying illegally in Nalasopara Vasai MiraBhayandar Ghansoli Vashi and Koparkhairane as they have been chased away from MumbairdquoThe officer who requested anonymity said ldquoEarlier they would come to Wadi Bunder Dongri and Byculla to sell drugs but since the law enforcement agencies are on a tight vigil they donrsquot dare enter Mumbai but do come to the areas on the cityrsquos periphery to sell drugs to peddlersrdquoOver the past months the AntiNarcotics Cell ANC of the city police and the Narcotics Control Bureau NCB have launched several crackdowns and recovered huge quantities of drugsA razed illegal building at Tulinj in Nalasopara East where the drug trade was carried out PicsHanif PatelStressing the need to flush out the operators the officer said ldquoIt is not possible to catch them with narcotic substances but at least their documents can be verified to immediately start their deportation procedurerdquoAn NCB officer said many African nationals arrive in India on sports and business visas and once their visas expire they indulge in the drug business ldquoThey donrsquot continue their stay in the city that they land in They change cities and continue their illegal stayrdquoThe joint director of NCB Mumbai zone Sameer Wankhede said these Africans destroy their passports after entering India ldquoAlso in a bid to continue their illegal stay here they commit petty crimes and court arrest as they know that the Indian law forbids deportation of foreign nationalsrdquo Wankhede saidldquoIf the person is arrested in a petty crime he will easily get bail in a few days and after coming out they continue their illegal sale of drugsrdquo said Wankhede adding ldquoThese African nationals have been exploiting the loopholes in the lawrdquoHushhush stayThe NCB source said that the African nationals forge their passports to get houses on rent ldquoThey live in a oneroom kitchen flat where they go only for sleeping and most of the time especially at night they are out of home Even their neighbours do not know what they do and where they gordquo he saidWankhede said a few African nationals had been running a call centre like business from Nalasopara ldquoWe learnt about an African national who would take an order on phone calls from his mastermind in Africa to deliver drug consignments in Mumbai We arrested the personrdquo he saidMusa den raidedOn Tuesday NCB and Navi Mumbai cops raided the house of Musa the biggest drug supplier to Mumbai at Koparkhairane though they didnrsquot find him They recovered a few passports old FIR copies and other documents related to cases and a packet of some narcotic substance from the oneroom kitchen apartmentThe drug seized from the flatDeputy commissioner of police headquarters Vijaykant Sagar said a lot of measures have been taken to eradicate drug menace from Mira Road Bhayandar Vasai and Virar ldquoWe have registered 20 cases against 51 foreign nationals after the MBVV police commissionerate was formed of which five are for violation of visa and passport rules and the rest are under NDPS Actrdquo said SagarThe officer said they have deported one citizen each from Tanzania Nigeria Uganda and Sierra Leone for overstaying ldquoAlso we are in the process to deport one from Cameroon and two each from Nigeria and Ugandardquo he addedSagar said on the orders of MBVV police commissioner Sadanand Date they began a crackdown and demolished an illegal building each in Nalasopara and Mira Road where the trade was going on ldquoLegal action against the owners of these illegal structures is being takenrdquo Crime branch DCP of Navi Mumbai police Pravin Patil said they deported 31 foreign nationals including 10 Nigerians last year ldquoAnd this year till August 15 17 Nigerians 6 Ugandans and 25 Bangladeshi have been deportedrdquolsquoDevilrsquos dietrsquoAn antidrug officer said these operators are big eaters ldquoThey demand biryani or else they do not cooperate in the investigation And their belly is not filled with one plate Each African needs at least three to four platesrdquo said the officer A prison officer said ldquoWe have to arrange extra food for African inmates An Indian needs hardly four pieces of paav but an African national demands at least two dozen pavs for breakfastrdquo10No of Nigerians deported by Navi Mumbai police last year