370 capsules with 4 kg heroin found in stomachs of 5 men caught at Delhi airport
Officers said the men had come to Delhi from Kandahar last Saturday. They were admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and the capsules were extracted from their body over a period five days.
Delhi Police and customs officials, in a joint raid on Saturday, arrested five Afghani men from Delhi airport and claimed to have recovered at least 370 capsules containing heroin, from their stomach.
The customs later claimed this was the “biggest ever” seizure of ingested drugs from Delhi airport.
Officers said the men had come to Delhi from Kandahar last Saturday. They were admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and the capsules were extracted from their body over a period five days.
The total weight of the contraband recovered was about four kilograms and worth more than Rs15 crore, deputy commissioner of customs Kalrav Mishra said,
According to another customs official, the five Afghans were intercepted around 6.30pm last Saturday, when they arrived at Terminal 3 of IGI airport from Kandahar.
The officer said that they had specific inputs about some Afghan suspects who might be involved in smuggling.
“Their baggage was checked over suspicion of gold smuggling. Their bags were also passed through hand held metal detectors and door frame metal detectors but nothing suspicious was found. A special permission was then sought and they were taken to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital for a detailed medical checkup,” said an officer, who did not wish to be named.
The officer said X-Ray reports of the five men revealed presence of capsules in their stomach. “The hospital staff then started the process of extraction of the capsules from their body. Till Thursday, the five men remained under medical supervision amid strict security. Six customs officers and two officers from Delhi Police’s special cell were deployed to keep a watch on these men at hospital,” the officer said.
Once all 370 capsules were recovered, they were sent to a laboratory where they were cut open and heroin was found in them.
Anubha Sinha, joint commissioner, customs, said that the five men were arrested and the recovered narcotics were seized.
During questioning, the Afghanis told their interrogators that they were promised a sum of $500 for delivering the drugs to a contact in Delhi.
Mishra said this was the biggest seizure of ingested drugs at Delhi airport. “The value of the recovered drugs is more than Rs 15 crore. Efforts to trace their contact in Delhi is being made,” Mishra said.
