NCB busts inter-State cocaine network, arrests seven including two foreign nationals
NCB's Kochi unit has arrested seven people and seized 33.1 grams of suspected cocaine, claiming to have dismantled an inter-State trafficking network.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has claimed to have dismantled an inter-State cocaine trafficking network, arresting seven people and seizing a total of 33.1 grams of suspected cocaine.
The operation began on September 10, 2026, when the agency's Kochi unit intercepted Gurpreet Singh of Kapurthala, Punjab, Hamdan Ahammed of Beypore, Kozhikode, and Aflah P. of Arakkinar, Kozhikode, at Feroke railway station. The three were arrested with 8.12 grams of suspected cocaine. Preliminary questioning indicated that the contraband had been sourced from Bengaluru.
On the same day, Sidharth Damor was intercepted while travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode and taken into custody. His examination led to the arrest of Arun Rajkumar, a Tamil Nadu native based in Bengaluru, who was found to be sourcing cocaine from foreign nationals and facilitating its supply to other peddlers and consumers.
The investigation also identified the involvement of two foreign nationals in the network. Chizoba Helen Anthony, a Nigerian national who had entered India on a medical attendant visa and overstayed for about ten years, was apprehended in Bengaluru on September 12, 2026. Mufukare Vittalis Tadiswanashe, a Zimbabwean national who had entered on a student visa and overstayed for two years, was arrested the following day. They were found in possession of 16 grams and 8.98 grams of suspected cocaine, respectively.
Investigators later found that Damor, Ahammed, and Aflah had been jailed in the United Arab Emirates for drug-related offences before being deported to India. During their incarceration, Aflah, Gurpreet, and Sidharth are said to have come into close contact and subsequently attempted to build a stronger trafficking network.