The Airport Special Cargo Customs officials on Monday arrested two persons including a Nigerian national for allegedly importing consignment containing cocaine worth Rs 4.89 crore.
According to the Customs sources, one import consignment declared as "Artificial Flower & Cards" having Consignee name Arvind Kumar (37) from Marol in Andheri was examined by the Customs officers. The examination resulted into the recovery of 489 grams of Cocaine and the same was seized on 04.06.2025 under the provisions of the NDPS Act.
In order to conduct a Controlled Delivery operation, dummy parcel was created by Customs officials. A Customs team was deputed for Controlled Delivery operation on 09.06.25. The Customs officers apprehended Arvind Kumar after he received the said parcel and was about to leave the MIDC Post Office.
Arvind Kumar on interrogation said that he has come to receive the said parcel on the direction of a person named Daniel Ajah who is African and he is waiting outside the Post office. Accordingly, Daniel was apprehended too. Arvind Kumar, a driver, is a resident of Mohali, Punjab.
"He said that on his friend named Daniel, contacted him via WhatsApp to collect a parcel booked in his name. On June 09, he travelled from Chandigarh to Mumbai by flight and went to MIDC Post Office to collect the parcel on Daniel's behalf. Arvind further stated he was unaware of the parcel's contents. He also confirmed that this was the second time he was receiving a parcel as per Daniel's instructions. For the current parcel, Daniel paid him Rs. 15,000 on June 6, 2025, wherein Rs. 10,000 was spent on travel. Daniel also promised clothes for his children and a return ticket. On the previous occasion, he was paid Rs. 14,000, out of which Rs. 12,000 was spent on travel expenses. He submitted copies of WhatsApp communication with Daniel. He confirmed he does not consume narcotics and is aware that their import is illegal in India," said a Customs source.
Daniel told Customs officials that he was born in Ghana and brought up in Nigeria, holding a Nigerian passport, that he works for a company in Tripura, buying innerwear products and exporting them to his shop in Nigeria. Daniel admitted that he had asked Arvind to collect a parcel. "He further stated that he was not aware of the content of the import consignment. A person from Kenya sent him the parcel, claiming it contained items like flowers and a wristwatch. Daniel said he was supposed to deliver the parcel to his girlfriend in India, but he did not know her name or address. He denied importing any consignment in the past and denied that Arvind Kumar had received any parcel on his behalf previously," the Customs source added.
