DRI nabs foreign national with cocaine worth ₹13 cr

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 1.27 kg of cocaine worth ₹13 crore from a woman from Cote’d Ivoire at Mumbai airport. She was arrested and the DRI is investigating an alleged international drug trafficking syndicate.

MUMBAI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has allegedly seized 1.27 kg of cocaine worth around ₹13 crore from a female national of Cote’d Ivoire, a West African country, after she arrived at Mumbai airport from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Thursday.

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The DRI acted on a specific intelligence and foiled the smuggling bid of the accused. The accused was nabbed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) by DRI ‘s Mumbai Zonal Unit’s team after they recovered the contraband concealed in her luggage, the sources said.

“Examination of her luggage resulted in the recovery of 1, 273 grams of white powdery substance, purported to be cocaine, with an Illicit market value of approximately ₹13 crore,” a DRI source said.

The drugs were allegedly ingeniously concealed in the inner layers of the accused’s handbag and a clutch bag.

The passenger was arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and remanded to judicial custody. The agency’s probe is on the trail of an alleged international narcotic trafficking syndicate that sent the accused as a carrier with contraband, the sources said. “Further investigation is in progress to unearth the further links of the drugs supply chain,” the source said.