Brazilian national carrying Rs 24-crore cocaine held at Mumbai airport

The man came to the city from Sao Paulo, via Addis Ababa

In the fourth case of smuggled cocaine in July, a Brazilian man was arrested at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Monday, for attempting to illegally traffic cocaine worth Rs 24 crore. Rodrigo Dos Santos Alves, 23, has been charged with possession and smuggling, under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

An x-ray check by customs officials revealed tha Rodrigo Dos Santos Alves, 23, (in pic) had two polythene pouches filled with cocaine tied to his waist and these were covered with a white cloth. (HT PHOTO)

Alves arrived in the city from Sao Paulo, via Addis Ababa, on Monday morning. The customs officials who were on duty found his demeanour suspicious and went on to carry out a detailed security check and x-ray.

The check revealed Alves had two polythene pouches filled with cocaine tied to his waist and these were covered with white cloth. Altogether, Alves had little over 4kg of cocaine on his person.

“In one shot, the carriers [would] make a lot of money and are rewarded handsomely,” said an officer from the air intelligence unit (AIU) who is privy to the investigation.

The agency suspects Alves may have collaborators in the city. “Alves was operating alone in the flight, but we are investigating where the drug was destined,” said the officer. Agencies monitoring narcotics stated that Mumbai is a prime transit point in the illegal narcotics trade. In the past, cocaine has usually been brought to the city by sea. Of late, authorities have noticed a growing trend of mules or carriers – usually young people in need of money – who have been used to carry illegal drugs through airports.

Earlier this month, the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) had arrested a Nigerian national, Bonavenchure Nzubechukwu Nwude, on July 16 for the alleged possession of high-quality cocaine worth more than Rs 6 crore in Khar. On July 17, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) recovered cocaine worth approximately Rs 3 crore from a 24-year-old Venezuelan salesgirl who had flown into the country from Brazil, on July 12.

On July 19, Venezuelan Hadry Vanessa Vines Costa, 31, and Brazilian Mereles Garcia Yurinka Elimar, 21 were arrested by the NCB for carrying 5.37 kilograms of liquid cocaine, which is estimated to be worth Rs 13 crore.