E-Paper
DRI seizes cocaine worth ₹13.35 crore from 2 foreign nationals at Mumbai airport
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence’s (DRI) zonal officers have arrested two Tanzanian nationals from Mumbai city airport for allegedly smuggling cocaine by concealing the contraband in their body
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence’s (DRI) zonal officers have arrested two Tanzanian nationals from Mumbai city airport for allegedly smuggling cocaine by concealing the contraband in their body. A total 2.2kg of cocaine, stuffed in 101 capsules, worth ₹13.35 crore has been seized from them under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
DRI on Thursday said that based on specific inputs on April 22, the accused – Mtwanzi Carlos Adam and Rashid Paul Sayula – travelling from Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, to Mumbai via Addis Ababa, were apprehended.
DRI had intelligence that they were carrying some narcotics substances in their body. Hence, DRI officers secured permission from the court for the medical examination of the two suspects and admitted them to the state-run Sir JJ Hospital.
The doctors found about the presence of some foreign objects in their stomach during the X-ray screening of the suspects.
During interrogation, Adam and Sayula admitted to have swallowed 54 and 97 capsules, respectively, before embarking on the flight to Mumbai. Both were placed under arrest on Thursday, as they were at the hospital till Wednesday. A city court on Thursday remanded them to judicial custody.
A DRI officer said that the investigation so far has confirmed that the drug syndicate is also smuggling the narcotics through mules who conceal the contraband in their body and travel to India on medical visa.
“This is the third such case of smuggling of narcotics detected by DRI Mumbai in the past six months wherein a medical visa facility has been abused by foreign nationals of African countries,” said a senior DRI officer.
DRI further stated that while demand for cocaine has continued during the pandemic – as it is a drug of choice for the elite – its availability has reduced due to international travel curbs, thereby making smuggling by concealing in body a more lucrative option. Hence, this seizure of cocaine during the current lockdown is significant.
DRI Mumbai had made record seizures of narcotics drugs and psychotropic substances amid the pandemic in 2020 and this year and seized drugs like heroin, cocaine, mephedrone, ephedrine and ketamine, worth ₹646 crore.
