A 25-year-old Nigerian woman, Ifeoluwa Akinwunmi, is facing the possibility of up to 20 years in prison in India after allegedly being found with illegal drugs valued at more than ₦1.8 billion.
The woman, said to work as a hairstylist and nail technician, was taken into custody last Tuesday by officers from the Anti-Narcotics Wing of the Central Crime Branch in Bengaluru.
Authorities reportedly arrested her in Tarahunase village, near Rajanukunte Main Road, after she arrived from Delhi with a bag that raised suspicion.
As per details from The New Indian Express, referenced by PUNCH Metro on Monday, the bag was discovered to contain 5.325kg of MDMA crystals, a controlled party drug.
The illegal substances were hidden among 11 new churidars, which are traditional Indian garments.
“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.
Akinwunmi was arrested while standing with the bag,”
a police officer involved in the case reportedly said.
Akinwunmi, who claimed her intention for visiting India was to set up a beauty salon, is now being charged under India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985, as well as the Foreigners Act of 1946.
Section 23 of the NDPS Act lays down harsh punishments for individuals caught importing or distributing banned substances.
PUNCH Metro cited the Indian legal code, which mandates that anyone found in possession of a commercial quantity—such as the amount Akinwunmi allegedly had—faces 10 to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, along with substantial financial penalties.
“Where the contravention involves commercial quantity, [the offender shall be punished] with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to twenty years and shall also be liable to a fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to two lakh rupees.”
In addition, under the Foreigners Act, foreign nationals involved in crimes are subject to prosecution and possible deportation by the Indian government.
Her arrest follows closely after another Nigerian, Emmanuel Bediako, also known as Maxwell, was detained by the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau for similar drug-related offenses.
Advertisement
