A25-year-old Nigerian national, Ifeoluwa Akinwunmi, has been arrested in India by the Anti-Narcotics Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) for alleged drug trafficking.
Akinwunmi, who identified herself as a hairstylist and nail artist, was apprehended on Tuesday while allegedly in possession of 5.325 kilograms of MDMA crystals—commonly known as ecstasy—estimated to be worth ₹10 crore (over $1.2 million or about N1.8 billion).
Akinwunmi told police that she had travelled to India with intentions of opening a beauty salon.
The New Indian Express reports that Akinwunmi Princess Ifeoluwa, also known as “Princess,” was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) at Tarahunase village on Rajanukunte Main Road in Bengaluru.
Acting on a tip-off, anti-narcotics officers intercepted her as she arrived from Delhi carrying a bag suspected to contain narcotics.
“She is a courier. She had come to hand over the drugs to a group of African peddlers. We noticed four men on two scooters in the area, but they did not collect the parcel. Princess was arrested while standing with the bag,” an officer said.
Police said the bag also contained 11 new churidar outfits. During questioning, Princess claimed she did not know what was inside the bag and said a friend in Delhi had asked her to deliver it to a man wearing a black hat.
She told investigators that she had come to Bengaluru to open a beauty salon. She identified herself as the daughter of a Nigerian civil servant but declined to provide more details.
Records show she entered India on a business visa in October 2021 and later obtained a student visa for a university in Telangana, which she never attended.
Her visa expired in 2022, and she has been overstaying illegally since then.
“There are credible leads on her boyfriend in Delhi, who is absconding. She will be taken into police custody for further investigation. This is the first case registered against her in the city, and we are yet to verify if there are any cases elsewhere in the country,” an officer said.
Princess has been handed over to the jurisdictional Chikkajala police station for further legal action.
