Drug racket busted with the arrest of 2 in Hyd

An international drug racket was busted in Hyderabad on Tuesday with the arrest of two drug peddlers, including a Nigerian national and seizure of about 35 grams of cocaine from their possession.

Accused Okoro Mathias Chukwudi alias Williams of Nigeria and Durga Prasad, a native of East Godavari district, were nabbed when the duo were planning to sell the narcotics to customers in posh Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills areas, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma told reporters.

Williams, who arrived in Mumbai on a business visa in August, came in contact with James, a Ghana national, who is a drug peddler in Mumbai and procured the cocaine from him, Sharma said.

The Nigerian along with Prasad planned to sell the banned substance in Hyderabad between Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000 per gram ahead of New Year, Sharma explained. Further investigations are being conducted to unearth their network with other local and foreign drug dealers, the Hyderabad police chief added. The international drug mafia brought cocaine into India from South America via Hong Kong through various ways, he said.