Sierra Leone national arrested at Mumbai airport with cocaine worth Rs 20 crore

A woman from Sierra Leone was apprehended at Mumbai's international airport with a staggering 1,979 grams of cocaine, valued at Rs 19.79 crore, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) reported Monday.

The arrest came following a tip-off, with the woman landing in Mumbai from Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday, an official disclosed. Suspicions were raised when items in her possession, including shoes, moisturizer, and shampoo bottles, were found to be unusually heavy and rigid. Upon inspection, white powder concealed within these items was discovered, subsequently identified as cocaine after testing with a field kit, the DRI stated.

The woman has been placed under arrest and remanded in judicial custody. Furthermore, investigations into the smuggling network are ongoing, the official added.

This incident follows closely on the heels of another significant drug bust last Wednesday by the same agency. In that operation, four individuals were arrested in connection with drug smuggling, and over 9 kg of cocaine worth Rs 100 crore was seized. The DRI had intercepted two female passengers of Indonesian and Thai nationality arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, along with 9.83 kg of cocaine.

The successive arrests underscore the ongoing efforts by authorities to combat drug trafficking networks operating through Mumbai's international airport.