HYDERABAD: Narsingi police have ramped up the probe into a NDPS case following the seizure of 199 grams of cocaine.
Police teams are working with the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) to trace two Nigerians — Ezeonyili and Ebuka — who are key suspects in the case. Ezeonyili reportedly operates from Hyderabad while Ebuka is based in Bengaluru.
Blessing, identified as accused no. 1, allegedly sourced cocaine from an unidentified person in Delhi, which was then obtained by Ezeonyili. Investigators believe that Ezeonyili supplied cocaine to Aman, who is reportedly the brother of actress Rakul Preet Singh.
The remand report, accessed by TNIE, mentions Aman’s father as Kulwinder Singh. However, authorities have not confirmed the relationship between Aman and Rakul Preet during press briefings.
The report states that Blessing made approximately 30 trips to Delhi to source cocaine, delivering it to Ezeonyili. The mode of her transport and how she operated in the city are still under investigation. The report also indicates that Ezeonyili and another suspect, Azeez, were financing peddlers to ensure a continuous supply of drugs.
Focus on ops in Hyderabad
Police teams are seeking custody of the accused to gather more information about the cartel’s operations, supply chain and network of consumers in the city.
Blessing, a native of Anambra state in Nigeria, confessed to her involvement in drug trafficking after meeting Nigerian national Ebuka in Bengaluru in August 2018. Initially working in a shop, she was introduced to the drug trade by Ebuka.
Concealed in bread
Following Ebuka’s instructions, Blessing made her first trip to Hyderabad in September 2018 to deliver cocaine concealed in a loaf of bread. She was arrested by the Prohibition & Excise Police Station in Dhoolpet and jailed for eight months, before being released in April 2020. She was again arrested in August 2020 in Bengaluru for overstaying in India and imprisoned for three months.
In November 2023, Blessing travelled to Casa Grande Apartment in Greater Noida, Delhi, to collect a packet of cocaine, which she delivered to Ezeonyili in Sun City, Hyderabad, before returning to Bengaluru. Her subsequent trips to Delhi in February and May 2024 followed a similar pattern — collecting cocaine from an unidentified African national, delivering it to Ezeonyili in Hyderabad, and then returning to Bengaluru.