Brazilian man held for smuggling cocaine worth ₹1.6 cr

A 23-year-old Brazilian national was arrested by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Wednesday for smuggling

A 23-year-old Brazilian national was arrested by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Wednesday for smuggling ₹1.6-crore worth cocaine stuffed in 53 plastic capsules which he had ingested in his body.

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The accused, Jose Domingues, was coming from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and had landed at CSMIA on March 14, when he was detained on suspicion of drug smuggling. He was arrested on Wednesday, said an AIU officer.

During questioning, Domingues confessed to ingesting 53 capsules containing cocaine. “He ejected 35 capsules at the airport but had to be admitted to Sir JJ Hospital where he ejected the remaining 18 capsules. The capsules contained high-quality cocaine worth ₹1.6 crore,” said the official. The accused was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday and arrested.

Further probe revealed Domingues worked as a carrier for a drug racket in Brazil, an AIU source said. Investigators are trying to collect information about the person who was to accept delivery of the drugs in Mumbai.

The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for smuggling a commercial quantity of the drug.