Panaji, March 26 Police have arrested a 44-year-old Nigerian national after seizing drugs worth approximately Rs 2 lakh from his possession in the North Goa district, officials said.
The man had also been arrested in a drug-related case in 2017, they said.
Acting on specific intelligence, a Crime Branch team laid a trap in the early hours of Wednesday at Cunchelim in the 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, estimated to be worth around Rs 2 lakh, from him. A scooter and a mobile phone were also seized from his possession, the official said.
The accused has been 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, he was lodged at the detention centre in Mapusa. He was later released in December 2025 following a High Court order.