A 42-year-old Nigerian national, Agbu Chike Anthony, is facing a 20-year-jail term in India for drug peddling.
According to the report published by IndianExpress , on Sunday, December 25, 2022, the suspect was arrested on a second charge of selling drugs a little over a year after he was nabbed on similar charges by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch police.
He was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police in the Electronics City region in Bengaluru’s south-east division on Thursday and was allegedly found in possession of 250 grams of MDMA crystals valued at Rs 25 lakh in the market.
Anthony had been arrested in November 2021 by the K G Halli police in the east division of Bengaluru for possession of 90 grams of MDMA while allegedly selling drugs in east Bengaluru.
The Nigerian national is still under trial in the case and was out on bail. According to the CCB police, Anthony, who arrived in India four years ago on a business visa, has remained in the country. The police said he began dealing drugs in Bengaluru by sourcing MDMA from associates in Goa.
The drugs were being sold to customers in Bengaluru at a cost of Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per gram, the CCB police said in an official statement. Following his earlier arrest in November 2021, Anthony had been initially denied bail on the grounds that he was found in possession of a commercial quantity of MDMA.
He was granted bail at the trial stage. In the latest case, Anthony has been booked under sections 8 (c) and 22 (c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for the sale of drugs and for possession of a commercial quantity of psychotropic substances which entails a minimum jail term of 10 years or a maximum of 20 years on conviction.