A Nigerian national, Doris Etumudon, has been arrested in India for allegedly trafficking narcotic substances valued at over ₦6 billion (approximately $4 million), PUNCH Metro has gathered.
Etumudon was apprehended on Friday at Panvel Railway Station in Maharashtra while reportedly travelling with an infant named Miracle.
According to a report published by Deccan Herald on Saturday, the arrest was the result of a coordinated operation involving the Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Central Railway, Panvel; the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Bengaluru; and the Crime Intelligence Branch, Kurla, Mumbai.
The suspect was onboard Train No. 12618 Hazrat Nizamuddin–Ernakulam Mangala Express and was intercepted following intelligence gathered by the NCB in Bengaluru.
“Acting on specific intelligence, a joint operation was launched and a search was conducted on the train’s arrival at Platform No. 7, Panvel Railway Station,” CR officials stated.
During the search, officers reportedly found a Nigerian woman with a child in Coach A-2, Seat No. 27, carrying a multicoloured travel bag.
Upon interrogation, she identified herself as Doris from Nigeria and said the child with her, whom she called Miracle, was hers.
The RPF noted that “upon interrogation in the presence of independent witnesses, the woman confessed to carrying narcotic substances.”
She was taken to the RPF post at Panvel for a detailed search. There, officers found two rectangular black packages in her bag, wrapped in rubber and labelled “VINTAGE.” Drug test kits later confirmed the contents to be cocaine weighing 2.002 kg.
Further examination of the luggage revealed a smaller Mickey Mouse-themed bag containing two paper packages — one labelled “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes” and the other “Bongchi Perfect Roll” — which were found to contain white crystalline substances. These were later identified as methamphetamine, weighing 1.488 kg.
“The seized narcotics, with a combined estimated market value of approximately Rs 36 crore, were taken into custody,” CR authorities confirmed.
Etumudon is the second Nigerian woman arrested in India within the last two months for trafficking narcotics. She joins several other Nigerians currently facing prosecution in the country for similar offences.
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