Two Nigerian nationals have been arrested at the Mumbai airport for trying to smuggle in cocaine worth nearly Rs 30 crore packed in capsules ingested by them, an official from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Acting on intelligence inputs, DRI officials intercepted two passengers after they arrived at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport from Lagos via Addis Ababa on Friday, the official said.
DRI officials produced the duo in a court and sought their medical examination on the grounds that they might have concealed drugs in their bodies.
‘We got the permission from the court after which their medical examination confirmed that the two passengers had ingested capsules containing some substance,’ said a DRI official.
Later, a medical examination confirmed that the two passengers had ingested capsules containing some substance.
As per reports, they purged 167 ingested capsules in 3 days. The capsules contained a total of 2.97 kg of cocaine worth ₹ 29.76 crore, the DRI official said.
The contraband which was concealed in the capsules were tested with the help of NDPS kits.
‘It tested positive for cocaine,’ said an officer adding, ‘A total of 2.976 kg of cocaine has been seized under NDPS Act, 1985.’
While the duo was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, a court has remanded them in judicial custody, the official said.
