In a significant move against narcotics trafficking, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai Zonal Unit, confiscated 2.25 kg of cocaine valued at around Rs 11.25 crore in two separate operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. Four foreign nationals engaged in drug smuggling through body concealment have been apprehended in connection with these incidents.
On May 22, DRI officers intercepted a female and a male passenger arriving from Addis Ababa at Mumbai’s airport based on specific intelligence inputs. Upon interrogation, the passengers confessed to swallowing capsules with narcotic substances for smuggling. A total of 84 capsules containing 1.40 kg of cocaine, worth nearly Rs 7 crore, were recovered from them.
In a prior operation on May 19, DRI officials intercepted an African male and female passenger arriving from Addis Ababa. Both passengers admitted to ingesting capsules with narcotic drugs and were taken to a government hospital where 63 capsules containing 850 grams of cocaine, valued at around Rs 4.25 crore, were retrieved. The seized contraband has been confiscated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The arrested passengers are currently under custody, and investigations into the drug smuggling network are ongoing. Additionally, in separate operations in Assam and Mizoram, DRI seized a substantial quantity of smuggled foreign-origin areca nuts, totaling around 60,000 kg, with five individuals arrested in connection to the smuggling activities.
