A 25-year-old Nigerian hairstylist and nail artist, Ifeoluwa Akinwunmi, has been arrested by India’s Anti-Narcotics Wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation for possession of 5.325 kilograms of MDMA crystals, valued at Rs 10 crore (over ₦1.8 billion).
According to The New Indian Express, Akinwunmi was apprehended last Tuesday at Tarahunase village, Rajanukunte Main Road, Bengaluru. Her arrest followed weeks after another Nigerian, Emmanuel Bediako (alias Maxwell), was detained by the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau for drug trafficking.
Akinwunmi was reportedly intercepted upon arrival in Delhi with a suspicious bag containing the drugs and 11 churidars, traditional Indian outfits, based on a tip-off.
Investigations revealed that she arrived in India in October 2021 on a business visa, later converting to a student visa to attend a university in Telangana. However, she failed to enroll and has been overstaying illegally since her visa expired in 2022.
Akinwunmi claimed she was unaware of the bag’s contents, stating that a friend in Delhi had instructed her to deliver it to a man wearing a black hat. She expressed plans to start a salon business in Bengaluru and identified herself as the daughter of a Nigerian civil servant but declined to provide further personal details.
“She is a courier. She had come to hand over the drugs to a group of African peddlers,
“We noticed four men on two scooters in the area, but they did not collect the parcel. Princess was arrested while standing with the bag.
“There are credible leads on her boyfriend in Delhi, who is currently absconding. She will be taken into police custody for further investigation.
“This is the first case registered against her in the city, and we are yet to verify if there are any cases elsewhere in the country, ” police officer told The New Indian Express.