Mira-Bhayandar: Three days after the anti-narcotics cell (ANC) attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police arrested an African national from Ghana for possessing drugs worth more than Rs 26 lakh on Monday, a 49-year-old Nigerian drug peddler landed into the custody of their anti-terrorist squad (ATS) counterparts.

The accused who has been identified as- Ogbuefi Ifeanyi Ibeh (49) currently resides in Mira Road and was arrested from the Vijay Nagar area of Nallasopara (east). He was found to be in possession of 102 grams mephedrone (MD) valued at Rs 20.40 lakh (Rs 20,00 per gram) in the international market.

Acting on a tip-off, a night patrolling team from the ATS attached to the Tulinj police station led by senior police inspector-Vijay Jadhav spotted the suspect near the municipal hospital in Vijay Nagar. The ATS personnel seized the contraband and registered an offence against Ibeh under the relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

Apart from conducting a background check to ascertain his involvement in other cases in the past, an investigating team under the supervision of API- Dattatray Patil is verifying documents to ascertain the legality of his stay in the country and also trying to find out the source of the drugs and potential buyers. The MBVV police has intensified its crackdown against peddlers and drug-lords to weed out the menace from the region.