Liberia man held with cocaine capsules worth Rs 15 cr at Delhi airport

A Liberian man who swallowed 60 capsules filled with cocaine, valued at over Rs 15 crore, was arrested by customs officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport Delhi, authorities said.

The man was stopped after arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, via Doha, Qatar, on September 20, according to officials.

During questioning, the passenger admitted to ingesting capsules containing narcotics or psychotropic substances and was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

“During his stay at Safdarjung Hospital, the passenger expelled 60 oval-shaped capsules,” said a statement from the customs department Delh airport.

When the capsules were opened, they contained a white powder or granules suspected to be a narcotic substance.

The substance, weighing just over 1 kg, was confirmed to be cocaine, with an estimated value of Rs 15.21 crore, the statement added.

In a separate incident, customs officers seized gold worth over Rs 1.8 crore from seven Uzbekistan nationals, including a minor, who attempted to smuggle it into the country through IGI Airport Delhi.

The suspects were apprehended upon arrival from Almaty, Kazakhstan, on September 25.

“All seven passengers (six women and one man) were related and worked together to smuggle foreign-origin gold into India,” according to another customs statement.

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A detailed examination of their luggage and personal search led to the recovery of gold weighing 2,739 grams, with a tariff value of Rs 1,80,51,149.

The gold was seized, and six of the suspects, except for the minor, were arrested. The juvenile passenger was placed in detention, the statement said.

(With inputs from PTI)