Indian police have arrested two Nigerian nationals and a local foreign exchange agent in connection with a wide-reaching international drug trafficking and money laundering network operating across India, the United States, and Nigeria.
The arrests, made in Upparpally, Hyderabad on Saturday by the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TGANB) in collaboration with the Cyberabad Police, led to the seizure of 15 grams of cocaine, 50 grams of MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy), and ₹45,000 in cash.
The suspects have been identified as Ugwu Ikechukwu alias “Emma”, and Chukwu Ogbonna alias “Big Joe”—both Nigerian nationals living in Hyderabad—and Mohd Mateen Siddiqui, a local money transfer agent. Authorities said the trio played key roles in a complex international drug and financial crime ring.
TGANB Director, Sandeep Shandilya, revealed during a press briefing that the operation was part of a larger, global drug network allegedly run by another Nigerian, Ebuka, also known by various aliases including Lebuka, Emmanuel, and Divine Ebuka Suzee. Ebuka is said to have established a narcotics distribution channel stretching from Hyderabad to Bengaluru and extending all the way to the United States.
According to investigators, Ebuka entered India on a tourist visa and gradually built a syndicate with the help of his brother, Franklin Uchenna, and other Indian nationals. Together, they trafficked banned drugs like cocaine and MDMA, mainly targeting young customers in Indian cities and in the US.
The network’s operation included a web of financial transactions that allowed drug payments from the US to be routed through Indian and Nigerian bank accounts in a way that bypassed international financial scrutiny.
Emma, who acted on instructions from Ebuka, played a unique role in this operation. Using social media and dating apps, he targeted single American women, convincing them to share sensitive bank and credit card information. This data was then used to receive payments from drug buyers in the US.
Once the payments were made, forex agent Mateen served as the middleman—using his local banking contacts in India and abroad. He provided account numbers to the US-based buyers and collected the payments in Hyderabad, passing the cash to Emma after taking his commission.
When the value of a single transaction exceeded $2,500—a threshold that drew attention under US financial regulations—Emma contacted another accomplice, Anand Jain, who provided additional banking channels belonging to Indians based in the US. This helped the gang keep the transactions under the radar.
Authorities explained that the money collected from drug sales was eventually routed back to Nigeria. Emma handed over cash to Big Joe, who travelled to Mumbai to meet another suspect, Nwabueze Kenechukwu Victor. From there, the cash was passed on to Nigerian businessmen in the garment industry. These individuals laundered the illegal proceeds through seemingly legitimate textile businesses, effectively cleaning the money before it was returned to the gang leaders.
“This network was very well organised,” said Shandilya. “Each member, whether they were selling drugs or helping with the bank transfers, knew exactly what they were doing. It was a team effort built to hide money trails.”
Police said the breakthrough came after months of careful surveillance. Undercover officers posed as drug buyers and made several dummy transactions. Instead of making arrests immediately, they used the opportunity to trace how the money moved through various channels.
“Once we understood the full structure, we carried out Saturday’s raid and made the arrests,” said a senior TGANB officer.
Investigators also released a list of other suspects who remain at large. These include Franklin Uchenna (Ebuka’s brother), Syed Sohail Abdul Aziz, Syed Naseer Ahmed, Mohd Awaiz, Syed Yousuf Haq, Anand Jain, Shantilal Suresh Kumar Jain, and Uttam Jain. Efforts are ongoing to track them down.
In the course of the investigation, authorities uncovered significant loopholes in how foreign nationals—especially students—are tracked in India. The Foreigners’ Student Information System (FSIS), which is supposed to monitor international students, is reportedly not being properly updated by schools and universities.
As a result, 371 foreign students are believed to be overstaying in Telangana state alone, while records for over 18,000 international students are missing because their institutions failed to report when they left the country.
“This is a serious gap in our system,” Shandilya noted. “It allows people to enter India on student visas and then vanish into illegal activities. Institutions must take responsibility.”
The arrest of Nigerian nationals in international drug cases is a growing concern for Nigeria’s foreign affairs and diaspora commissions. Over the years, many Nigerians abroad have been caught in serious legal trouble, damaging the country’s reputation and placing its law-abiding citizens under suspicion.
The Nigerian government has previously warned its citizens to stay away from illegal activities abroad and take advantage of proper migration and education channels.
In recent years, Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has strengthened ties with international law enforcement agencies to track drug-related crimes involving Nigerians overseas. These latest arrests in India could lead to more collaborative efforts between the two countries.
Experts have called for more effective tracking of foreign nationals, especially those on temporary or student visas. They also urge stronger financial oversight to detect suspicious cross-border transactions early.
“There is a need to improve our data-sharing and international policing methods,” said one Indian security analyst. “These networks survive by moving across borders, and no one country can tackle them alone.”
For now, the arrested suspects remain in custody and are likely to face a long legal process in India. Police have promised more arrests as investigations continue.
This case highlights not just the reach of international crime networks but also the importance of global cooperation to tackle drug trafficking and money laundering. As India works to clean up its cities, Nigerian authorities will also be watching closely to ensure that its citizens are not being used as tools in global criminal empires.
