The Anti Narcotics Cell of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested a 31-year-old Nigerian national who is alleged to be a major supplier of high quality cocaine to affluent consumers in Mumbai.

The ANC apprehended the accused identified as Chukwuma Nwaeke on Tuesday, July 5 and recovered cocaine worth Rs 24 lakh ($30,000) from him.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade, ANC, said Nwaeke was intercepted after being spotted by a team from the ANC’s Bandra unit during a routine patrol on the Air India Road in Santacruz, east.

“Nwaeke was searched and our team recovered 80 grams of cocaine worth Rs 24 lakh from his bag, after which he was placed under arrest and charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act,” said Nalawade.

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”Further inquiries indicate that Nwaeke is among the prominent suppliers of cocaine of superior quality, selling it to those who can afford it. The police have also found that he was arrested in a similar case by the Saki Naka police in 2014.

“There is a larger supply chain, which he is a part of. It is suspected that there are many more such peddlers, also Nigerian nationals, involved in this racket. We are working on tracing and apprehending them,” Nalawade added.