A Special Court for Essential Commodities (EC) Act cases in Coimbatore has sentenced a Nigerian citizen, James, alias Emmanuel Chukwunonso Samson, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹1 lakh for his role in an international drug trafficking network uncovered by India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
The conviction follows a case dating back to July 17, 2012, when NCB’s Chennai Zonal Unit, acting on a tip-off, intercepted three suspicious parcels at a courier facility in Chennai.
The packages, cleverly concealed inside ladies’ handbags, car gasket boxes, and embroidery materials, were intended for shipment to West Africa, Australia, and Spain.
Upon inspection, officers discovered 1.195 kilograms of heroin and 200 grams of methaqualone, a sedative-hypnotic drug often abused for its calming effects. NCB estimated the combined international street value of the seized drugs at over ₹2 crore.
Further investigations led agents to Erode, where James was arrested. During his capture, authorities also confiscated an additional four kilograms of ganja (marijuana) from his possession.
After years of legal proceedings, the Coimbatore court on September 20, 2025, found James guilty of participating in the transnational smuggling operation and imposed the decade-long sentence.
The NCB, in a statement after the judgment, urged the public to report narcotics-related activities by calling the national helpline MANAS – 1933, assuring that the identities of informants would remain confidential.
Indian court hands Nigerian man 10-year prison term for global drug trafficking