The Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TGANB) has exposed a sophisticated network of Nigerian nationals using counterfeit passports, expired visas and sham marriages to traffic narcotics across India’s major cities. According to a report by ETV Bharat obtained by PUNCH Metro, syndicates operate in Hyderabad, Goa, Bengaluru and Delhi and routinely exploit fake identities to avoid deportation.
“The Nigerian drug syndicate is using these new methodologies to evade deportation,” the TGANB noted. Investigators traced at least six active gangs, each led by Nigerian ringleaders who entered on forged documents. One mastermind, known as “Stanley,” arrived in 2009 and first operated in Goa. After an overstay arrest, he married an Indian woman from Rajasthan to delay removal and then expanded his network to Hyderabad and beyond.
The notorious “Okra gang,” based in Goa’s Colvale jail since 2021, used mobile phones and local agents to distribute cocaine, MDMA and ecstasy imported from Belgium and the Netherlands. Another figure, David “Pastor” Uka, formed a community association as cover, obtained SIM cards on forged papers and was arrested in 2023 with 264 ecstasy pills in Hyderabad.
TGANB also linked operations to shell companies, Western Union money flows worth ₹4 crore, and vehicle-recovery agents stealing repossessed cars for drug drops. In Delhi, a Palestinian associate helped widen the ring, while others like Maxwell and Ebuka Suji are believed to continue operations remotely.
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