Nigerian caught in India for operating a drug lab

Police in India’s south district have arrested a 36-year-old Nigerian man, known only as Emmanuel, for allegedly running a factory producing high-end psychotropic drugs like MDMA and heroin.

According to a Times of India report on Monday, Emmanuel, who is suspected of living in India illegally, was caught with heroin ready for sale.

The report, published on Saturday, detailed how the alleged drug lab was uncovered inside the suspect’s nondescript house in south Delhi’s Devli area.

“A huge quantity of raw material required for synthesising the drugs was seized, besides the processed heroin.

“According to police, around 16 kg of crystalline material and 16 kg of grey, grain-like substances used as bases for drug synthesis were stored in the house.

“The haul also included 51 kg of liquids stored in multiple containers and 30 unlabelled glass bottles, all intended for the chemical processing of MDMA and heroin. In total, 113 kg of raw materials were recovered.

The heroin and MDMA crystals that could have been made using these chemicals would be worth several crores in the international market,” the report read.

According to the report, DCP Ankit Chauhan said the breakthrough came on January 20, when a team led by ACP Mukesh Walia and SHO Paras Nath Verma arrested the Nigerian national while he was allegedly on his way to sell the processed heroin.

“The police teams were on foot patrol when they spotted the suspect. His attempt to evade the police backfired, leading to a search that revealed the cache of premium heroin worth over a crore.

“However, as the interrogation deepened, it transitioned from a routine drug bust to the uncovering of a sophisticated manufacturing nexus,” a senior police officer told the Times of India.

The police were said to have stumbled upon the chemicals stored in multiple containers while searching his apartment.

“This massive haul of precursors suggests that the accused was not merely a foot soldier or a distributor, but a ‘cook’ or supplier in a larger Nigerian gang operation,” the officer added.

While quoting investigators, the report added that the ability to transform raw, industrial-grade chemicals into “high-quality” heroin and MDMA marks a shift from simple smuggling to local production, making the bust significant for police.

“Emmanuel had been living in India illegally. By hiding in the dense residential pockets of Devli, he managed to operate under the radar. An FIR has been registered against him under the NDPS Act,” the report added.