HYDERABAD: Nigerian peddler Chukwu Ogbonna David alias Tony, who was arrested for the first time on Wednesday by city cops from Pune since coming to India in 2013, never met any of his rich clients directly, operating only through his trusted lieutenants.
Cops, however, said they have found incriminating evidence in the phones of some of the seven customers they arrested on Thursday.
“We have sent the seized mobiles for forensic analysis and data retrieval,” a cop said.
Task force police picked up the 37-year-old Nigerian from a resort in Pune where he had taken temporary shelter after some of his associates were arrested by the city cops.
“He usually stays in resorts and star hotels, wining and dining with his girlfriend,” said an investigator.
Cops said that Tony catered to about 100 trusted customers from Hyderabad, Goa and Mumbai through close associates Imran Babu Shaik, Noor Mohhammed Khan, Aftab, Parwaz, Rahamath, Irfan and Firdos. He rarely accepted new requests, even if they came with references, police said.
“In Hyderabad Tony has about 30 clients and recently he had stationed a delivery person in Hyderabad. Every fortnight the delivery agent changed and they also kept changing the place of stay. Tony has a reputation for quality and sold a gram for ₹8,000 to regular customers and slightly higher for others,” a Task force official said.
After police arrested his associates in Hyderabad a few weeks ago, he deleted WhatsApp from his phone. But based on phone contacts, police zeroed in on 13 of his customers from the city and seven of them along with two employees have now been arrested.
“Whenever customers placed an order, Tony would alert his agent in Hyderabad and inform the customer where to pick up. His agents never directly got in touch with customers. In case of any suspicion, Tony, who uses a Nigerian SIM, would make a WhatsApp video call without showing his face and check the client and surroundings before making the deal,” a cop said.
Payment was in cash as well as digital mode, with Tony withdrawing or transferring it soon after daily. Cops found only ₹16,000 in one of his accounts.
Punjagutta inspector Niranjan Reddy said that Tony, the seven consumers and two of their employees have now been sent to judicial remand.
“We have moved a petition before the court seeking police custody and we may get it next week,” the inspector said.
