Tuesday, January 27, 2026 - A south district police unit in India has arrested a 36-year-old Nigerian, identified only as Emmanuel, for allegedly operating a factory that was manufacturing high-end psychotropic substances, including MDMA and heroin.
According to a report by the Times of India on Monday that
Emmanuel, believed to be living in India illegally, was apprehended “with
ready-to-sell heroin.”
The report, published on Saturday, detailed how the alleged
drug lab was uncovered inside the suspect’s nondescript house in south Delhi’s
Devli area.
“A huge quantity of raw material required for synthesising
the drugs was seized, besides the processed heroin.
“According to police, around 16 kg of crystalline material
and 16 kg of grey, grain-like substances used as bases for drug synthesis were
stored in the house.
“The haul also included 51 kg of liquids stored in multiple
containers and 30 unlabelled glass bottles, all intended for the chemical
processing of MDMA and heroin. In total, 113 kg of raw materials were
recovered.
The heroin and MDMA crystals that could have been made using
these chemicals would be worth several crores in the international market,” the
report read.
According to the report, DCP Ankit Chauhan said the
breakthrough came on January 20, when a team led by ACP Mukesh Walia and SHO
Paras Nath Verma arrested the Nigerian national while he was allegedly on his
way to sell the processed heroin.
“The police teams were on foot patrol when they spotted the
suspect. His attempt to evade the police backfired, leading to a search that
revealed the cache of premium heroin worth over a crore.
“However, as the interrogation deepened, it transitioned
from a routine drug bust to the uncovering of a sophisticated manufacturing
nexus,” a senior police officer told the Times of India.
The police were said to have stumbled upon the chemicals
stored in multiple containers while searching his apartment.
“This massive haul of precursors suggests that the accused
was not merely a foot soldier or a distributor, but a ‘cook’ or supplier in a
larger Nigerian gang operation,” the officer added.
While quoting investigators, the report added that the
ability to transform raw, industrial-grade chemicals into “high-quality” heroin
and MDMA marks a shift from simple smuggling to local production, making the
bust significant for police.
“Emmanuel had been living in India illegally. By hiding in
the dense residential pockets of Devli, he managed to operate under the radar.
An FIR has been registered against him under the NDPS Act,” the report added.
Emmanuel’s arrest is the latest in a series of Nigerian
nationals apprehended in India for drug-related offences.
This comes amid heightened scrutiny of Nigerians living in
other countries such as Ghana and South Africa, where hundreds have been
arrested for crimes ranging from internet fraud and prostitution to drug
trafficking.
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