In a significant anti-narcotics operation, Bengaluru’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested 29-year-old Nigerian national Olajide Ester Ianuoluwa for smuggling cocaine hidden inside bread loaves.
Officials recovered 121 grams of cocaine, estimated to be worth Rs 1.2 crore, concealed in hollow sections within the bread to bypass routine inspections. The arrest was made by the CCB’s Anti-Narcotics Wing following a tip-off about her meeting a local drug buyer near Varthur, Bengaluru.
Investigations revealed that Ianuoluwa had traveled from Mumbai to Bengaluru carrying the narcotics. She reportedly received the cocaine from a male associate in Mumbai and was instructed to personally hand it over to another Nigerian national in Bengaluru to avoid courier interception.
The accused had entered India on a student visa last year but never enrolled in any educational institution. She stayed in Mumbai and its suburbs, including Ghatkopar, Ambawadi, and Nalasopara, where she became involved in drug trafficking.
Based on her information, the Nigerian buyer in Varthur was also arrested and subsequently deported from India. The CCB confirmed that the arrest is part of an ongoing crackdown on international drug trafficking networks operating in India.
