The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized 7 kg of cocaine worth Rs 30 crore  with the busting of a drug cartel operating in Delhi and Mumbai, an official said on Tuesday.

Two women, an Indian and an Ethiopian, were among the five people arrested in the case. The masterminds of the drug syndicate are Nigerian nationals.

In a joint operation, the NCB’s Mumbai and Delhi units recovered 4.9 kg of cocaine from a woman in the Tilak Nagar area of New Delhi on October 13, the official said.

The investigation revealed the cocaine was sourced from a hotel in the Masjid Bandar area of Mumbai and in an immediate follow-up action 2 kg of cocaine was found in a similar trolley bag from a woman in Mumbai who was arrested along with two Ethiopian nationals on Oct 14.

The syndicate was managed by Nigerian drug traffickers operating mainly in Mumbai and Delhi but they had a pan India footprint, NCB Deputy Director General Gyaneshwar Singh said.

The anti-drug agency has uncovered a new modus operandi of drug traffickers in which citizens from African nations switch airports to evade law enforcement agencies.

The drug traffickers used social media platforms and virtual numbers to communicate and pass directions in order to avoid reverse tracking.