The Amboli police arrested a Nigerian national with close to half a kilogram of cocaine on Tuesday morning. The accused has been identified as Femi Opayemi (29), a resident of Vasai in Palghar district.
Mr. Opayemi was arrested after assistant police inspector Daya Nayak received a tip-off that the accused would be coming to Jogeshwari to sell the drugs. Senior Police Inspector Bharat Gaikwad said, “Our team laid a trap on Sahakar Road near Jogeshwari station and intercepted Mr. Opayemi at 12.15 a.m. on Tuesday. A total of 472 grams of cocaine, worth ₹37.73 lakh in the Indian market, was seized from his possession.”
An officer said drug peddlers seldom carry more than 10 to 20 grams of cocaine, making Tuesday’s haul a significant catch. He said, “Even drug addicts buy cocaine by the gram and never in large quantities. It is more affordable and easy to hide that way. We suspect that the seized drugs were either meant for a party or a major drug deal. More arrests are expected to be made in the coming days.”
The police are interrogating Mr. Opayemi to find out the source of the drugs, who his accomplices are and if there is another huge stash of cocaine. This is the second major seizure of cocaine in the city this year. In August, Ferreira Nascimen, a Brazilian national, was arrested at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport with 457 grams of cocaine, which he had concealed in capsules and mixed with talcum powder. The accused had arrived from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and was scheduled to board a Delhi-bound flight. He was handed over to the Narcotics Control Bureau.
