A Nigerian woman, Margret Mgbudom, has been arraigned before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Navsari, Gujarat, India, on charges of importing cocaine valued at Rs 1.49 crore.

According to The Indian Express, Gujarat’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) intercepted the illicit substance—estimated to be worth N256 million—last Wednesday.

The 37-year-old has remained in SMC custody since her arrest. Reports indicate that her case was initially registered at the SMC police station on January 31, 2025.

Mgbudom, a resident of Meera Road in Mumbai, was charged under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act after law enforcement received intelligence on Tuesday.

During a highway surveillance operation, authorities stopped her car in Maharashtra and conducted a search, leading to the discovery of 149.51 grams of cocaine. Forensic analysis later confirmed the nature of the substance. SMC officials arrested her on the spot and confiscated her passport.

SMC Police Inspector V.C. Jadeja, commenting on the case, stated, “After primary interrogation, she disclosed that the drug is owned by a person named Elder in Nigeria. She got the drug from one Emmanuel of Mumbai, to get it delivered to a person in Surat. She hired a car from Mumbai and was on her way to Surat.”

Jadeja further suggested that an international drug syndicate may be operating in India, controlled from Nigeria. The cocaine might have come from Nigeria through peddlers but it is the local members of the cartel in India who identify the customers and sell it at high rates,” he added.(Vanguard)