Jun 23, 2025 07:34 AM IST
Mumbai: DRI seized 1.13 kg cocaine worth ₹11.39 crore from an Ivory Coast national at the airport, who ingested capsules to smuggle them into India.
Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 1.13-kg cocaine worth ₹11.39 crore from an Ivory Coast national arriving from Sierra Leone, West Africa on Thursday at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The accused passenger had allegedly ingested tablets containing the substance, in a bid to smuggle them into India.
As many as 67 capsules, containing a total of 1.13-kg cocaine, were recovered from the accused passenger’s body via medical procedures in a government hospital, agency sources said.
The passenger was intercepted by DRI at the airport on Thursday based on a specific intelligence tip-off that an Ivory Coast national may attempt to smuggle in narcotics, the sources said. Upon questioning, the accused admitted that he had ingested the capsules containing narcotic drugs for smuggling into India, the source said.
The recovered cocaine was seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the accused has been arrested. The agency is investigating the case to find others involved in the racket.
The DRI, in a separate operation last week, seized narcotics substances including 2.56 kg of methamphetamine, a crystalline substance, and 584 grams of ecstasy tablets, from a Nigerian woman while attempting to transport them to Delhi. The agency seized the substance and arrested the accused.
