25-Year-Old Nigerian Woman Arrested In India With Drugs Valued At N1.8Bn

A 25-year-old Nigerian woman, Ifeoluwa “Princess” Akinwunmi, has been arrested in India for allegedly trafficking drugs after being found with 5.325 kilograms of MDMA crystals (ecstasy) worth more than ₹10 crore (around $1.2 million or N1.8 billion).

Akinwunmi, who claimed to be a hairstylist and nail artist, was taken into custody on Tuesday by the Anti-Narcotics Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Tarahunase village along Rajanukunte Main Road in Bengaluru.

The arrest followed intelligence gathered by narcotics officials, according to The New Indian Express.

Authorities reported that she had traveled from Delhi carrying a bag suspected to contain narcotics, which she planned to deliver to a group of African drug dealers in the area.

“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.

“Princess was arrested while standing with the bag,” an officer said.

The bag also contained 11 new churidar outfits.

During initial questioning, Akinwunmi claimed she didn’t know what was inside the bag and said a friend in Delhi had asked her to deliver it to a man wearing a black hat.

She told the police she came to India to start a beauty salon and described herself as the daughter of a Nigerian civil servant but declined to provide further personal information.

Authorities stated that she originally entered India on a business visa in October 2021 and later switched to a student visa for a university in Telangana, which she never attended.

Her visa expired in 2022, and she has been living in India illegally since then.

“There are credible leads on her boyfriend in Delhi, who is absconding. She will be taken into police custody for further investigation,” a senior officer said, adding that this is her first recorded case in the city.

Akinwunmi has been transferred to the Chikkajala police station for further legal action.