Two African nationals, staying illegally in India, held in NDPS case

Two African nationals allegedly involved in drug peddling near here in Kullu district while staying illegally in the country without any passport or visa were on Wednesday arrested from Delhi by a Himachal police team, said an official.

The two arrested have been identified as Sery alias John, 23, of Ivory Coast in West Africa and Samuel, 30 of Nigeria, said Kullu Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh, adding the duo were arrested by a special police team of the district from Delhi, where they had been staying.

The duo were arrested under section 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, which pertains to aiding and abetting various offences like sale, purchase, possession, export, import etc of drugs, said the SP..

The two have also been booked under various sections of the Foreigners Act for illegally staying in India without any valid travel document like visa or passport, he said.

The names of Sery and Samuel had surfaced during the probe into a case related to recovery of 46 grams of heroin from three persons in Patlikuhal police station area, the SAP said, adding the FIR regarding that case had been registered on December 8 in that police station.

The investigation revealed that Sery used to supply the contraband to customers on their demand and Samuel used to finalise the deal and handle its financial transactions," said SP Singh.

Sery is one of the major suppliers whose links have also been found in NDPS cases of other districts, he added.

Earlier three other foreigners were held by Kullu police in separate drug related cases.

Two Nigerians Ibrahim, 29, and Olisha, 27, were arrested from Delhi on December 8 for supplying drug, whereas a British tourist Paul Stanton, 54, had been arrested in Bajaura on November 17 for allegedly carrying 568 gram charas.

While Ibrahim and Olisha are currently in police remand, Stanton is in judicial custody till December 13.