Panaji: Police have arrested a 44-year-old Nigerian national after seizing drugs valued at Rs 2 lakh from his possession in North Goa district, officials said.
The man had earlier also been arrested in a drugs case in 2017, they said.
Acting on specific intelligence, a Crime Branch team laid a trap in the early hours of Wednesday, March 25, at Cunchelim in Siolim village of Bardez taluka, where the accused was expected to deliver narcotic substances, Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi told reporters.
Sensing the police presence, the accused, identified as Joseph Ifeanyi Ozoemena, attempted to flee but was apprehended, he said.
During the operation, the police recovered 17.58 gm of amphetamine with an estimated market value of around Rs 2 lakh from him. A scooter and a mobile phone were also seized from his possession, the official said.
The accused was booked under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
According to police, the accused has a prior record of drug-related crimes and was arrested by Goa‘s Anti-Narcotics Cell in 2017.
He remained in jail for seven years, and following his release in 2024, was lodged at the detention centre in Mapusa. He was later released in December 2025 following a High Court order.
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