A Nigerian woman, Margret Mgbudom, has been arraigned before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Navsari, Gujarat, on charges of importing cocaine valued at Rs 1.49 crore (approximately N256 million).
According to The Indian Express, Gujarat’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) intercepted the illicit substance last Wednesday during a highway surveillance operation in Maharashtra.
The 37-year-old, a resident of Meera Road in Mumbai, has remained in SMC custody since her arrest, with her case officially registered at the SMC police station on January 31, 2025.
Authorities said Mgbudom’s vehicle was stopped, and a search was conducted, uncovering 149.51 grams of cocaine.
It noted that forensic tests later confirmed the substance’s authenticity. Following her arrest, officials also confiscated her passport.
SMC Police Inspector V.C. Jadeja revealed that during interrogation, Mgbudom admitted she had received the drug from an individual named Emmanuel in Mumbai and was transporting it to Surat.
She also claimed the consignment belonged to a Nigerian national known as “Elder.”
Jadeja further suggested the possibility of an international drug syndicate operating in India with links to Nigeria.
“The cocaine might have come from Nigeria through peddlers, but it is the local members of the cartel in India who identify the customers and sell it at high rates,” he stated.
Authorities said that they are continuing investigations into the alleged drug network, with suspicions that it could be part of a larger trafficking ring spanning multiple countries.
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