Valsad: Acting on specific intelligence, the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) of Gujarat Police nabbed two Nigerian nationals with Amphetamine and Methamphetamine drugs valued at ₹1.26 crore in the Bhilad police station area.

Acting on a tip-off, SMC teams kept watch near the railway overbridge in Kareambela village on National Highway-48. They intercepted a suspicious car and found two Nigerian men inside. A search of their luggage revealed a chemical substance, which Forensic Science Laboratory officials confirmed as drugs. The seized contraband weighed 252.14 grams.

Police confiscated their mobile phones and ₹5,200 in cash. The suspects, identified as Kelichiku Aze Francis (40) and Akimwani Taiwo David (28), both residents of Nalasopara in Palghar, Maharashtra, originally hail from Lagos, Nigeria. They were booked under various sections of the NDPS Act.

Authorities revealed that Francis had been arrested in 2022 in a narcotics case by Mumbra police and was released on bail in January 2025. Francis arrived in India in 2014, while David came in 2019. Officials are verifying their visa details and investigating the intended recipient of the drugs.

According to officials, the accused had hired a taxi and were traveling from Mumbai to Surat when they were intercepted. They had planned to deliver the drugs in Surat and Ahmedabad. The State Monitoring Cell team is interrogating the suspects to determine the source of the drugs, the intended recipient in Surat, and others involved in the racket. DeshGujarat