An Indian court in Ahmedabad has sentenced a Nigerian national, Christian Arinze, to 20 years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty of trafficking illicit drugs into the country.
India’s anti-narcotics agency, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), disclosed that Arinze was convicted alongside his Zambian accomplice, Hanchabila John, following their trial before a special court handling narcotics-related offences in the city.
According to the bureau, John was arrested on September 3, 2021, after arriving at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on a flight from Dubai.
Operatives of the agency reportedly intercepted him during routine checks and discovered about 2.75 kilograms of heroin concealed in his luggage.
The arrest led investigators to link Arinze to the drug trafficking operation, after which both men were prosecuted under India’s narcotics laws.
Delivering judgment, the Special Court for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances cases in Ahmedabad sentenced the two foreigners to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.
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The court also imposed a fine of Rs200,000 on each of the convicts.
The NCB confirmed the development in a post on X on Tuesday, stating that the Additional District and Sessions Court in Ahmedabad found both men guilty in connection with the seizure of 2.757 kilograms of heroin at the airport in September 2021.
Meanwhile, the bureau urged members of the public to report narcotics-related activities through the MANAS helpline, assuring that the identities of informants would be treated with strict confidentiality.
Arinze’s conviction comes less than 72 hours after authorities in Ghana arrested 93 Nigerians over alleged involvement in fraud and human trafficking.
Earlier, about 43 other Nigerians were also detained in Mozambique in circumstances the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission described as potentially xenophobic, noting that those detained had not been formally charged with any offences.
