A 25-year-old Nigerian woman, Ifeoluwa Akinwunmi, has been arrested in India by the Anti-Narcotics Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) for alleged drug trafficking.
Akinwunmi, who is known to work as a hairstylist and nail artist, reportedly claimed she traveled to India with plans to open a beauty salon.
However, she was apprehended last Tuesday in Tarahunase village along Rajanukunte Main Road in Bengaluru while allegedly in possession of 5.325 kilograms of MDMA crystals, with an estimated street value of Rs 10 crore (over N1.8 billion).
Her arrest comes just two days after another Nigerian national, Emmanuel Bediako (alias Maxwell), was detained by the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau for a similar offence.
According to The New Indian Express, the CCB acted on a tip-off and intercepted Akinwunmi as she arrived from Delhi carrying a suspicious bag. The bag contained the drugs along with 11 new churidars (traditional Indian garments).
“She is a courier. She came to deliver the drugs to a group of African peddlers,” a police officer said. “We spotted four men on two scooters in the area, but they did not take the parcel. Princess was arrested while still holding the bag.”
During interrogation, the suspect—popularly known as Princess—claimed she did not know the bag contained drugs. She told police that a friend in Delhi had asked her to deliver it to a man wearing a black hat. She also said she intended to open a salon in Bengaluru and identified herself as the daughter of a Nigerian civil servant, though she declined to share further personal information.
Records show that Akinwunmi arrived in India in October 2021 on a business visa and later obtained a student visa to attend a university in Telangana.
However, she never enrolled and has been staying in the country illegally since her visa expired in 2022.
Authorities said they have leads on her boyfriend in Delhi, who is currently on the run. She has been transferred to the jurisdictional Chikkajala Police Station as investigations continue.
“This is the first case filed against her in Bengaluru. We are still checking if she has any prior records elsewhere in the country,” another officer stated.
