Hyderabad: Investigations by the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) have revealed that Hyderabad has emerged as a lucrative hub for narcotics traffickers from Latin America and Europe, with local carriers easing last-mile delivery. This is happening despite enforcement agencies — including the law and order police, Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing (HNEW) and EAGLE — have made several arrests of Nigerian suppliers along with local peddlers who also doubled as consumers.
EAGLE has prepared a 500-page dossier on the scale of the drug trade in India, submitted to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), income tax department and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office.
Investigations into a string of drug busts show Hyderabad as a key link in the global supply chain routed through Mumbai, Pune and Goa. Officials said Nigerian cartels have been moving consignments from Latin America into Europe before pushing them into India through courier networks. “This was a long operation to identify the network,” an officer said. “Parcels of cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine, LSD and MDMA booked through DHL and FedEx were traced to Mumbai and Pune addresses. From there, consignments were diverted to Goa and passed to local handlers who pushed them to Hyderabad,” he explained.
A senior officer told Deccan Chronicle that cartels preferred Mumbai and Pune airports, where customs checks are relatively weak. “From these airports, the drugs move to Goa, where Nigerians living in rented villas purchase the consignments and sell them through couriers into Hyderabad. At every stop, payments are made, with final settlements routed back to the cartels. On some days, the network generated as much as Rs 2.85 crore in sales.”
Explaining the laundering process, the officer detailed: “X in Goa earns drug money from sales. Y in Mumbai operates a shop—such as garments, groceries, or human hair. X hands money to Chethan in Goa. Bharath in Mumbai settles this amount with Y. Subsequently, hawala funds are used to buy goods, which are shipped to Nigeria in containers valued at Rs 3 crore each. The goods are sold in Nigeria, with profits returning to the cartels.”
EAGLE, earlier known as TNAB, along with Panjagutta police, recently arrested Stanley and Sourab, seizing narcotics worth Rs 8.5 crore. Earlier this year, EAGLE and the Goa police confiscated drugs worth Rs 4.5 crore and deported seven Nigerian nationals. Livio, arrested in Banjara Hills in 2018, was again caught supplying cocaine to 30 Hyderabad customers after sourcing it from peddlers in Goa.
Officials also uncovered the role of DJs and event managers as distributors of the substance. Vansh Thakkar, a DJ, was identified as a local supplier linked with Nigerian handlers. After the bust, he fled to Pakistan, then Nepal and is now believed to be in Thailand. An LOC has been issued, and officials said he will be detained if he returns.
The operations highlight how local carriers facilitate last-mile delivery while foreign peddlers control bulk supplies from Europe to Goa. EAGLE has deployed 24 teams across the country for coordinated raids, and officials said the crackdown will continue.
Box
· Maxwell’s commission: Arrested by EAGLE, Maxwell earned Rs 68.44 lakh in one year as commission at a 20 per cent rate.
· Chetan Marmaria: Arrested in Mumbai; Rs 8.5 lakh in drug proceeds seized.
· Gangan Mali: Another Mumbaikar’s arrest yielded Rs 15 lakh in drug-linked funds.
· One-day seizure: Raids on Bharath Kumar Chaganlal & Co., Mumbai, netted Rs 2.85 crore — a single day’s drug money collection.
· Uttam Singh’s role: A Goa-based hawala operator, Singh collected Rs 50 lakh in two days from Nigerians and routed payments to Chetan Mamaniya through Bharath Kumar Chaganlal & Co.
· Weekly hawala flow: Singh’s weekly collections averaged Rs 2.1 crore, of which 1.3 crore reached Chetan Mamaniya via Bharath Kumar.
· National crackdown: 24 EAGLE teams raided across India, seizing Rs 3 crore in drug-linked hawala money.
· Goods laundering: Hawala funds were converted into garments, groceries and human hair, exported in Rs 3-crore consignments to Nigeria.
· Banking trail: Investigators traced 150 transactions linked to Nigerian accounts, showing transfers to Maxwell’s wife, brother-in-law, and boss.
· Multiple offices: Bharath Kumar Chaganlal & Co. operated in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Delhi, offering multiple laundering channels.
