Tanzanian, who sought to smuggle cocaine in swallowed capsules, held in Hyd
The accused, who was travelling from Johannesburg, was stopped for questioning by the officials at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, during which he broke down.
New Delhi: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Tuesday said that it has arrested a Tanzanian national, who had swallowed cocaine capsules valued at over Rs 11 crore in order to smuggle them into the country, from Hyderabad airport
This is one of the largest seizures of cocaine in the city.
The accused, who was travelling from Johannesburg, was stopped for questioning by the officials at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, during which he broke down.
“When questioned, he revealed that he had ingested cocaine capsules. The passenger purged 22 capsules at the airport and sought immediate medical assistance. Hence, he was admitted to a hospital immediately. Subsequently, under medical supervision, over a period of five days, the passenger purged out further 57 capsules, resulting in recovery of a total of 79 capsules containing the contraband, which were covered using transparent tape,” a customs official said.
He added that the total capsules seized weighed 1,157 gms and are valued at Rs 11.57 crore in the international market.
The passenger was arrested by the DRI on Tuesday under the NDPS Act, and remanded to judicial custody by the court.
During investigation, it was revealed that he travelled to Johannesburg from Tanzania. From Johannesburg, he was taken to Pretoria where he swallowed these capsules prior to his journey to India. He was supposed to purge them over a period of 3-4 days and hand them over to an unknown person.
