Two foreign nationals held for smuggling cocaine worth ₹4.7 crore at Mumbai airport

Venezuelan national Demnys Sales was arrested while smuggling cocaine worth ₹2.2 crore concealed in 60 capsules.

In two separate incidents, two foreign nationals were arrested on Friday while smuggling cocaine worth ₹4.7 crore at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

Drugs - Cocaine - Drug

In the first incident, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officials arrested a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, Demnys Sales, while smuggling cocaine worth ₹2.2 crore concealed in 60 capsules in his body. According to AIU sources, on July 19, Sales was intercepted at the airport while coming from Brazil on the basis of suspicion. While no drugs were found in his luggage, the AIU officials got to know about the presence of suspected objects inside his stomach with the help of X-ray machine examination.

He was then taken to Sir JJ Hospital where X-ray testing confirmed the presence of those objects in his stomach. Sales was then given medication to retrieve the substance. The doctors then retrieved 60 capsules filled with nearly 700 grams of high-quality cocaine from his stomach. Sales was arrested under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after being discharged from the hospital.

During investigation, it was found that Sales was part of a Nigerian drug gang, operating from Brazil. He was following instructions from a person named Peter. AIU said they are looking for Sales’s associates in India to whom he was to deliver the drugs.

In the second incident, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested a 29-year-old south American national on arrival at CSMIA on Friday for possessing cocaine worth ₹2.5 crore. According to NCB officials, Desmond Prince is suspected to be a part of a huge international drugs racket.