Mumbai DRI seizes ₹15 crore worth cocaine from African national

The passenger was placed under arrest under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 1.46kg of cocaine, worth approximately ₹15 crore in the illegal drugs market, from an African national after he was intercepted upon arrival at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The passenger had allegedly ingested the cocaine after packing it into capsules.

The cocaine seized by Mumbai Police. (Sourced image.)

Having received an alert about the passenger, a national of Côte d’Ivoire (a West African country), the DRI intercepted him upon his arrival at the Mumbai airport on Monday. During extensive questioning, the suspect divulged that he had allegedly ingested capsules containing drugs with the intention of smuggling them into India, according to a DRI source.

The agency subsequently produced the passenger before a city court to obtain permission for the recovery of the concealed narcotics through a medical procedure, the source said. The suspect was then admitted to JJ Hospital.

During his stay at the hospital from Monday to Wednesday, the accused purged a total of 77 capsules through the medical procedure, containing 1.46kg of cocaine valued at ₹15 crore in the illicit markets. The substance, purported to be cocaine, was seized and the passenger was placed under arrest under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The agency is currently investigating the identities of his accomplices.

In a separate case earlier in March, the DRI seized 1.1kg of cocaine, worth around ₹11 crore, from a man from Sierra Leone upon his arrival at the Mumbai international airport. The arrested accused had allegedly ingested the cocaine, which was stuffed into 74 capsules, and later recovered from his body. The accused was suspected of acting as a carrier for a narcotic trafficking syndicate and had allegedly been promised a payment of $1,000 (approximately ₹83,000) by his handlers, sources said.