In the biggest ever seizure of cocaine in Kerala, officers with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Cochin sub-zone, seized narcotic drug worth ₹15 crore in the international market and arrested a South American in this connection on Monday.
According to the NCB the arrested has been identified as Maldonado Fernando, 30, a native of Paraguay. The accused was intercepted by CISF officers at the Cochin airport while attempting to board a flight to Bengaluru. Further investigations revealed that the arrested foreigner was holding an air ticket to Goa via Bengaluru
The CISF officers, while frisking the accused prior to his entry into the security hold of the domestic terminal, detected some padding on his body. “He was, therefore, taken for pat down checks and it was noticed that he had concealed some white-coloured powder packed in cricket-pad-like plastic pouches strapped on his waist and shin below the knees,” official sources said.
The padding was sent for X-ray screening, which showed some organic content inside and on a narcotic detection test, it showed positive for cocaine, they added.
A detailed verification of the accused’s passport showed that he had landed in Kochi from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Dubai.
The contraband, weighing around 3.650 kg, was valued around ₹15 crore in the international market. On an alert, an NCB team reached the spot and took the accused into custody.
According to the NCB the incident suggested that cocaine traffickers are now preferring unconventional routes. Earlier in September, the NCB had seized a similar quantity from Chennai.
