Is there a Nigerian Mafia in India?

Recently, there were some reports in the Indian media about Nigerian drug-peddling gangs in the country, especially in the Gao region.

Last October, one Nigerian named Obina Obiwesi was murdered by suspected drug dealers. This caused a protest by some Nigerians in Gao demanding investigation into the matter.

An Indian MP Michael Lobo said this May about the incident, “The Nigerian Mafia are going unchecked because the police are scared of them. The Nigerians are very organized. If you go into Tito’s lane at night, there are Nigerians openly asking tourists if they want ‘coca’, which is the street name of cocaine.”

TVTN India reported some months ago that it spoke to police and locals in Gao, and it found that many Nigerians are rampantly involved in selling drugs on the Anjuna beach and other areas in Gao.

According to the report, many Nigerians enter India on student visas to study in colleges in various parts of India. But they go to Gao and join drug trafficking rings.

Asides India, there have been reports of Nigerians selling drugs and carrying out internet scams in other countries too, including Malaysia and South Africa.

Many young Nigerians migrate to these countries on student visas. However, they do not go there to study. Instead, what they do is relocate to these countries to link up with established internet scam rings and drug Mafia.

ACP Tunde Gbolarunmi is the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit in Abuja. He spoke with YNaija about the police’s efforts to deal with organised crime involving drug trafficking and internet fraud in Nigeria.

He says, “Police have been trying to control the situation and fight internet fraud and other crimes on the home front. But there must be more efforts at the community level. Citizens need to cooperate with the police by volunteering information about suspected cases. For instance, if people notice a young person in their community living lavishly with no clear means of income, they should try and alert the police.” 

As for preventing the migration of criminals to other countries, he says, “The task is not for police alone. Police have only a partial role. The Immigration Service also need to work. The government too must make sure the police and immigration officers have the right equipment so they can make electronic data checks on travellers, and things like that. We cannot continue to do these things manually.”