More than one hundred Nigerians were arrested in India in 2024 over drug trafficking, according to figures from the country’s narcotics authorities.
The development has drawn attention to the growing role of international drug cartels and its impact on Nigeria’s image abroad.
The report released by India’s Narcotics Control Bureau showed that 106 Nigerians were among those taken into custody during anti-drug operations last year. Nationals of Nepal topped the list with 203 arrests, while Myanmar recorded 25 cases. Suspects from Bangladesh, Ghana, and Ivory Coast were also among those detained.
India’s Home Minister, Amit Shah, announced the figures during a national anti-narcotics conference in New Delhi, where he said the country is shifting its focus to dismantling drug cartels rather than only catching individual peddlers. He explained that security agencies are now expanding their methods to include tracking cryptocurrency, monitoring the darknet, and using advanced data analysis to trace networks across borders.
The report also revealed new smuggling methods being used. Punjab state documented 163 incidents of drugs delivered through drones, while authorities in Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir recorded large seizures of heroin and methamphetamine. Officials say India’s location, sharing borders with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Myanmar, makes it a key point along global drug routes.
Security analysts in Nigeria have reacted to the arrests, noting that drug syndicates often take advantage of vulnerable youths, recruiting them as couriers with promises of quick financial gain. They argue that the figures show the problem is regional and global rather than limited to Nigeria.
So far, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not released an official statement on the report. In the past, government officials have maintained that many Nigerians imprisoned abroad were drawn into the trade by larger criminal groups that exploit their circumstances.