Navi Mumbai, 10 October 2026: The Anti Narcotics Cell of the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a 41 year old Nigerian national after seizing mephedrone and cocaine with a total estimated value of Rs 3.57 crore from his possession and residence in Taloja.
The accused, identified as Ani Ikechukwu Darlington, was living as a tenant at Ambika building in Rohinjan village, Taloja. Acting on a tip off, a team led by Senior Inspector Sandeep Nigade laid a trap near a hotel in Taloja on the Panvel Mumbra highway on Thursday evening. Officers apprehended him with 221 grams of mephedrone valued at approximately Rs 6.63 lakh.
A subsequent search of his rented premises recovered a further 2.276 kilograms of mephedrone worth Rs 68.28 lakh and 566 grams of cocaine valued at Rs 2.83 crore. Police also seized equipment and other materials allegedly used in the drug trade.
An FIR has been registered at Taloja police station under Sections 8(c), 21(c) and 22(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Assistant Commissioner of Police Dr Vishal Hire confirmed the details of the seizure.
Police stated that Darlington had previously been booked by the Mumbai unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau in an NDPS case registered in 2019. He spent seven years in prison in connection with that matter before securing bail in 2025.
The operation is part of a wider crackdown on narcotics trafficking in the Navi Mumbai Police Commissionerate. Over the past five years, authorities have registered 2,387 cases under the NDPS Act, arrested 3,200 accused persons, and seized a total of 1,078 kilograms of drugs worth around Rs 150 crore.
Investigations are continuing to establish the source of the contraband and to identify any associates involved in the network.
By A.Ikechukwu
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