Cocaine worth 21 cr seized, two held

The contraband was seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985

MUMBAI: Authorities have seized 2.17 kg of cocaine, valued at ₹21.78 crore in the grey market, from a male passenger who arrived from Freetown, Sierra Leone, at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Tuesday. The contraband was allegedly concealed inside a package of dates.

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The Mumbai unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested the passenger and, subsequently, another person who was allegedly the intended recipient of the contraband.

The DRI had been tipped off about the passenger and found the cocaine concealed in the dates. Officials found that the dates had small, black pellets inside them, inserted after the seeds had been carefully extracted. The pellets, in turn, contained a white powdery substance, officials said.

Testing of the powdery substance confirmed that it was cocaine. In a swift follow-up operation, the officials apprehended the intended recipient of the narcotics at the airport.

The contraband was seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and both passengers were arrested. An investigation is underway to uncover the network behind the drug trafficking, the officials said.

In a separate operation, the DRI on Friday arrested two women passengers who arrived at the Mumbai airport from Thailand, and were found in possession of cocaine worth ₹79 crore. The contraband was concealed in 22 packages in their baggage.