Brazilian held with cocaine worth Rs 2.5 crore at Mumbai airport

The contraband was mixed with talcum powder and concealed in tiny capsules.

A Brazilian national was caught on Sunday with 457 grams of cocaine, worth Rs 2.5 crore, which he had concealed in tiny capsules, mixed with talcum powder, at the city airport.

The accused, Ferreia Nascimen, has been remanded in judicial custody. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Airport officials handed over the accused to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for further investigation.

According to Customs sources, on Sunday, the accused, Ferreia Nascimen, who had come to the city from Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, was intercepted at T2 terminal, following a tip-off. He was going to take another flight to Delhi in a few hours.

On searching him and his luggage, the drugs were found. “He had concealed the drugs in capsules, put them in plastic containers filled with talcum powder in a hand bag. It was tough to detect the drugs,” said a Customs source.

Nascimen has been booked under relevant sections of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for possession and smuggling drugs. He was remanded in judicial custody.

His calls details and mobile contacts are being scrutinised to trace the international gang he is working for. Sources said the accused was to deliver the drugs to someone in Delhi. The information is being verified.

NCB investigators have not ruled out the possibility of the accused being involved in similar acts in the past as well.