BENGALURU, India – A 29-year-old Nigerian woman, Olajide Iyanuoluwa, was arrested in Bengaluru with 121 grams of cocaine worth about Rs 1.20 crore (roughly N195 million), Indian authorities said Wednesday.
Police said Iyanuoluwa allegedly concealed the drugs inside bread loaves. She was arrested by the Karnataka Police Narcotics Control Wing following credible intelligence and has been remanded in judicial custody, with deportation procedures to Nigeria underway.
The Bengaluru City Police Commissioner, Seemant Kumar Singh, said preliminary investigations showed Iyanuoluwa procured cocaine from an associate in Mumbai and transported it to Bengaluru using private buses. She had travelled to India on a student visa in 2024 but was not enrolled in any college.
During the raid, police also seized a mobile phone and other items allegedly used to facilitate the crime. Authorities later arrested the intended recipient, who was subsequently deported.
Officials noted that drug cartels had recently altered smuggling routes following previous raids on courier firms and post offices. Iyanuoluwa’s arrest adds to a growing number of Nigerians deported from India over drug-related offenses.
Babatunde Akinsola' ✔
Godwin Okafor is the Publisher & CEO of Naija247news Media Group LLC, an independent investigative news platform delivering accurate, data-driven reporting on Nigerian and global politics, economy, finance, and business. Founded in October 2010, Naija247news specializes in developmental journalism, providing timely insights and analysis to readers across Nigeria and the diaspora.
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