Brazilian held for smuggling drugs worth ₹3 cr at IGI airport

Man had swallowed 64 capsules containing 620 gm of cocaine

A Brazilian man was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi for allegedly smuggling cocaine worth ₹3 crore, which he had swallowed in the form of 64 capsules, officials said on Sunday.

In a statement issued by the Customs Department, the passenger was intercepted based on a tip-off after his arrival from S ã o Paulo via Addis Ababa on August 27. The man had swallowed 64 capsules containing 620 grams of white-coloured powder. Preliminary testing revealed that the powder was cocaine worth around ₹3.1 crore. The narcotic has been seized.

Second such seizure

This is the second significant seizure of narcotics in the form of capsules swallowed by passengers, effected by Customs officials at the Delhi international airport.

About 1.7 kg of cocaine worth ₹10 crore was seized by the officials from two foreign passengers — one Bolivian and one Kenyan — on August 24. The duo had swallowed about 145 capsules of cocaine, which were extracted at a city-based hospital.

Eighty-nine capsules weighing 890 gram, which tested positive for cocaine, were extracted from the Bolivian national. Fifty-six capsules containing 842 gram of cocaine were extracted from the Kenyan national. The foreigners were arrested.