Sierra Leone national arrested at Mumbai airport with cocaine worth Rs 20 crore
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Monday arrested a woman from Sierra Leone, who was in possession of 1,979 grams of cocaine worth Rs 19.79 crore at the Mumbai international airport, an official said.
The woman, who had landed in the maximum city from the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi, was taken into custody on Sunday on a tip-off, the official added.
“We found the items she was carrying, like shoes, moisturiser bottle, shampoo bottle etc, were heavy and rigid. When we checked them, we found white powder concealed in these items,” the DRI official said.
When the powder was tested using a field kit with the apprehending team, it was found to be cocaine, the statement said.
“We seized 1,979 grams of cocaine worth Rs 19.79 crore from the illicit market. She was placed under arrest and has been remanded in judicial custody. Further probe into the smuggling network is underway,” the official informed.
The latest development has come on the heels of a drug bust of an international cartel last Wednesday by the same agency wherein it arrested four people in connection with drug smuggling and seized over 9 kg of cocaine worth Rs 100 crore from them.
The DRI had apprehended two female passengers of Indonesian and Thai nationality, who had come from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, along with 9.83 kg of cocaine.
