A 43-year-old Kenyan woman was arrested on Sunday in India for allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country by swallowing drug pellets.
Authorities say she was intercepted at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport shortly after arriving from Nairobi on Friday morning.
Acting on intelligence, officers from India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) tracked and apprehended her as she attempted to make her way through the airport with no visible signs of contraband, according to The Indian Express.
A search of her luggage and clothing yielded no drugs, but during interrogation, she reportedly admitted to having ingested six pellets filled with narcotics. The DRI then sought court approval and admitted her to JJ Hospital for medical examination and drug extraction.
Medical staff successfully retrieved all six capsules from her stomach in pellet form.
Tests confirmed that the contents were cocaine, although the street value of the drugs was not immediately released, the contraband was found to be 665.5 grams of cocaine.
The suspect was placed under arrest and is now in custody as investigations continue. Indian authorities are also working to identify her local contacts and the network involved in the smuggling operation.
“It appears she was a part of a wider drug smuggling racket operating from Kenya,” an official close to the investigations said.
This incident adds to the growing list of drug trafficking cases involving couriers from Africa using India as either a transit or destination point.
In April this year, Indian customs officials arrested another 43-year-old Kenyan woman for smuggling 1.7 kilogrammes of cocaine valued between Ksh225 million and Ksh300 million (Rs 15 to 20 crores).
Acting on intelligence, authorities apprehended the Kenyan woman, identified as Emily, upon her arrival at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. She was flying the illegal narcotics from Nairobi to Delhi via Doha.
According to The Indian Express, Emily was taken in for questioning after customs officers inspected her baggage and discovered four packets containing a powdery substance. A field test later confirmed that the substance was narcotics.
