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₹60-crore cocaine in golden foil, chocolate boxes: Racket busted at Chennai airport
Two Indian men arrested after landing from Ethiopia; a Nigerian and another Indian arrested from Delhi and Mumbai later, NCB says racket runs wide
About 6 kilograms of cocaine, wrapped to look like chocolates from a premium brand, were seized by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) from two men at the Chennai International Airport, the NCB said on Tuesday.
The two men — one identified only as 25-year-old BA graduate from Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, and the other as an ITI diploma holder, 26, from Chamba in Himachal Pradesh — were caught after they got off a flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, September 1. It was a joint operation with the Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs, NCB said in press release on Tuesday.
A Nigerian national was later arrested in Delhi for being part of their network, as was another man, 26, also belonging to Chamba, from Mumbai.
The street value of the seized contraband, a “high-grade” variety of cocaine, is estimated to be at least ₹60 crore in the Indian black market, the NCB said. Cocaine is sold in one-gram sachets, each going for anywhere between ₹8,000 to 12,000, depending on the level of adulteration in the cocaine, it explained.
“It has been ascertained that these persons have made multiple trips from Addis Ababa to various airports in India for trafficking cocaine in the past few years,” the release added.
“Preliminary investigations also reveal that the apprehended individuals are part of a larger transnational drug syndicate involved in trafficking of cocaine from Ethiopia to India for further distribution in other parts of India from Delhi, where the distribution network is handled by [the] Nigerian national,” it added.
This Nigerian national entered India in 2023 on a medical visa, but was overstaying since 2024.
“Investigation also disclosed involvement of a person of Indian origin in Addis Ababa, who arranges the supply of cocaine and distribution of the profits among the syndicate members. Further investigations are underway to identify and apprehend all other members,” the NCB said.
Also, considering the involvement of foreigners, especially African nationals, in illegal drug trafficking activities in India, NCB has collected the list of overstaying foreigners and shared the data with the states for action under the Foreigners Act, the release said.
