Brazilian woman arrested with ingested cocaine capsules worth ₹10.96 crore

The DRI has launched a probe to identify potential accomplices and to determine whether the woman was acting as a courier for an international drug syndicate

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized smuggled cocaine valued at ₹10.96 crore from a Brazilian woman who arrived in the city from São Paulo, Brazil, on Friday. The accused, who had allegedly ingested the contraband for smuggling purposes, was arrested following the seizure.

Brazilian woman arrested with ingested cocaine capsules worth ₹10.96 crore

Acting on specific intelligence that a Brazilian national was attempting to smuggle narcotics into India, DRI officials intercepted the woman upon her arrival at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Upon questioning, she allegedly admitted to swallowing capsules filled with cocaine.

Subsequently, the accused was admitted to a government hospital, where she expelled 100 capsules containing 1.09 kilograms of cocaine through a medically supervised procedure. The contraband was seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the accused was placed under arrest.

The DRI has launched a probe to identify potential accomplices and to determine whether the woman was acting as a courier for an international drug syndicate.

This arrest follows a similar case in November last year when the DRI intercepted a Liberian national at Mumbai airport. In that instance, officials seized 3.49 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the false bottom of a trolley bag carried by the accused, who had arrived from Sierra Leone, a country on Africa’s southwest coast.