Tirupur: The Mangalam police on Saturday arrested five Nigerian nationals for illegal stay in India. The arrested foreign nationals were staying in rental houses in Tirupur city. Police said the five would be lodged in the Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai on Sunday. A police officer identified the arrested five as Vincent, 35, Chikezie Innocent, 43, Chinweubalinus, 52, Andrew Ugochukwu, 25, and Anthony, 41. Preliminary inquiry revealed that they had been staying in Tirupur city since 2021, buying banian clothes and exporting them to their home country. The officer said the five were nabbed based on a specific tip that they were staying at Sulthanpet Neelipirivu on Mangalam Road without any valid documents. “They did not have passports and valid visas to stay in the country.” While Bangladeshi nationals illegally staying in Tirupur and working in garment units is common, Nigerian nationals often visit Tirupur to buy apparel and export the same to their hometowns, the officer said. He said some Nigerian nationals were staying at Rayapuram in Tirupur city with proper documents. “We arrested the five after they confessed that they were staying in the country without any valid documents. They were later produced before a judicial magistrate, who remanded them in judicial custody. They will now be taken to the Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai,” the officer said.
