2 Ugandan women, Nigerian man arrested for drug trafficking

Two women from Uganda and a Nigerian man have been arrested and nine kilograms of narcotics such as heroin and cocaine seized from them as the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) bust a smuggling network, the agency said on Friday. Cousins Jascent Nakalungi, 42, and Sharifah Namaganda, 28, were intercepted by the Delhi unit of the central probe agency on January 28 after they landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The two had a medical visa for the treatment of Namaganda, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said. The two were apprehended on the basis of inputs gathered by the agency following a drugs case detected in December wherein over five kg of heroin was seized and two Indians were arrested, it said.

"A total of 8 kg of heroin and one kg of cocaine has been seized from the women. The drugs were hidden in their luggage bags that were handed to them in Uganda," NCB deputy director (operations) K P S Malhotra said.

A Nigerian national, named Kingsley, was also arrested after leads provided by the women were followed, he said. The case is a reflection of the common route employed for trafficking of cocaine, which is manufactured illegally in South American countries, the officer said.

"The seizure of heroin from this network clearly points towards the reverse route of heroin trafficking. The intensive measures by border guarding forces both at north-west frontier and the high seas have compelled drug traffickers to divert their loads towards the horn of Africa which is Mozambique," Malhotra said.

Heroin concealed in various shipments then reaches other parts of Africa, where the organised syndicates arrange the carriers. Subsequently, human couriers transport the drugs to India by adopting various ways like hiding the narcotics in body cavity and by concealing in baggage among other methods, he said.