Cops worry as Nigerian drug peddlers become law-savvy

Senior Police Inspector Girish Koyande from ANC said,“It is true that the menace of drug dealers from Nigeria and other African countries has increased in the South Mumbai area recently. We are planning to conduct operations in that area in the coming week in order to apprehend them.”

Koyande added,“The dealers have become very smart in the sense that they know the procedures that the police apply in NDPS cases. Hence they never seem to carry narcotics on their person. The drugs are always kept at some other location from where it can be brought to them after confirming that their client is a genuine customer and not an undercover police official.”

Koyande further claimed that the dealers also know the minimum quantity of narcotics that they can carry without being arrested for possession with an intention to sell. “In the court,a person arrested for possession of narcotics above the minimum quantity for personal consumption is presumed to be having it for the purpose of sale and in such cases it is very difficult for the arrested accused to get bail. The dealers know this and take care not to carry quantity beyond the limit,” said Koyande.

Another trick that the dealers apparently know is to never carry a weapon on their person. “The dealers also know that carrying any kind of weapon attracts provisions of the Arms Act where getting bail is difficult. They take care not to have anything that can be defined as a weapon. It is worrisome to see that these dealers have become more and more aware of the legal framework,” said another ANC sleuth on conditions of anonymity.