A South African woman and a man were arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) with cocaine having a street value of Rs3 crore and gold chains in two separate incidents on Thursday. While the woman was intercepted by customs officials after her arrival from Dubai, the man was intercepted after his arrival from Muscat.
Examination of her baggage and personal search resulted in recovery of a white crystalline powder which is believed to be cocaine, said Additional Commissioner of Customs, Vinayak Azaad. She had concealed the powder in an octagonal box of ‘Nadiya’ brand of chocolate dates, he said. “The seized cocaine weighs 595 gms with an estimated street value of Rs3 crore,” said the official.
“The passenger had come via Dubai from Johannesburg. She was arrested,” added Azaad. He said of late, customs officials have registered similar cases where smugglers have tried to dodge authorities by coming through Dubai and other destinations which are not noted for drug smuggling. In another case, customs officials arrested a man for allegedly trying to smuggle in gold chains valued at about Rs33 lakh. The accused was intercepted after his arrival from Muscat. “On detailed examination of his baggage and personal search, five gold chains weighing 1.1 kg were found concealed in a trouser pocket,” the official said. The value of the seized gold is Rs33.26 lakh. “The passenger was arrested, Azaad said.