Nigerian who 'supplied' dope to Ragini Dwivedi arrested

A Nigerian national has been arrested for peddling narcotics, the third African to be hauled up in the ongoing crackdown on narcotics.

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) said it arrested Ossy Philips, 30, near his residence in Prakruthi Layout, Yelahanka, on Friday night. He is an associate of Loum Pepper Samba alias Simon, the first African to have been arrested in the drugs case. Twelve grams of MDMA was seized from him, said Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime). A court has remanded him in police custody until September 30, another officer said.

The CCB said Philips came on their radar after Samba disclosed his name. It believes Philips had supplied drugs to Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi and other high-profile suspects arrested in the case. CCB sources said Philips claimed to be an apparel trader and had arrived in India on a business visa three years ago. He lived in Tirupur, the textile hub in Tamil Nadu, for six months and then relocated to Bengaluru. "He says he has left his visa and passport in Tirupur but we aren't buying it," an officer who's part of the investigation.

Meantime, the NDPS special court remanded party organiser Viren Khanna in police custody until September 30. Khanna's police custody in the drugs case registered at the Cottonpet police station ended on Friday.