Three foreigners held for smuggling cocaine worth nearly Rs 40 cr at Delhi airport: Customs

Delhi: Three foreign nationals have been detained for attempting to smuggle nearly Rs 40 crore worth of cocaine at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, as reported by the customs department on Sunday.

The suspects—two Brazilian women and a Kenyan man—had ingested capsules filled with cocaine and were arrested in separate cases, according to the department.

In the first incident, a 26-year-old Brazilian woman was stopped after arriving from Sao Paulo via Paris on January 28. During questioning, she revealed that she had swallowed capsules containing narcotic substances. She was then taken to Safdarjung Hospital for medical procedures, where she expelled 98 capsules, leading to the discovery of 866 grams of cocaine valued at Rs 12.99 crore. The passenger was subsequently arrested.

On January 24, customs officials intercepted another Brazilian woman, also arriving from Sao Paulo via Paris. She confessed to having ingested drug-filled capsules, and after being taken to the hospital, she expelled 100 oval-shaped capsules. These capsules contained a white powder suspected to be cocaine, which weighed 802 grams and had an estimated value of Rs 12.03 crore. Initial tests confirmed the presence of high-purity cocaine, indicating an advanced smuggling operation targeting India, according to the customs department.

In a separate case, a Kenyan man was detained after arriving from Addis Ababa on January 24. During questioning, he admitted to ingesting cocaine-filled capsules. He was taken to Safdarjung Hospital, where he expelled 67 capsules containing 996 grams of cocaine, worth Rs 14.94 crore. The customs department emphasised that the large quantity pointed to a major international smuggling ring attempting to push drugs into India.

All three cases involved body concealment, a dangerous method of trafficking. The customs department stated that the prompt actions of the IGI airport officers prevented nearly 2.66 kg of cocaine, worth Rs 39.96 crore, from reaching Indian markets.

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Investigations are continuing to uncover the broader network behind these smuggling operations.

(With inputs from PTI)