Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) nabbed a 40-year-old Zambian national at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) and recovered 1 kg of cocaine worth ₹15 crore from him on Wednesday.
The accused was carrying the drugs concealed in a children’s book, which he was holding, and waiting for luggage clearance. While analysing the profiles of the passengers, the officials on a suspicion zeroed in on the accused and kept a close watch on him. The officials noticed the accused was carrying the nursery rhymes book with him and took him into custody.
The book was heavier than usual and the officials removed the cover to find half a kilo of cocaine packed neatly on each side of the cover. The accused confessed that he was unemployed and was offered money to carry the parcel to Delhi via Bengaluru.
He was given free tickets and a boarding and lodging facility from his handler in Addis Ababa from where he boarded the flight on a tourist visa, a senior official said.
The accused was asked to take a domestic flight to Delhi from Bengaluru and was given a code to share with the person who would come to receive him at the airport before handing over the book.
The accused has been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and further investigation is on to track down others in the network, the official added.
In another incident, the officials caught a man and recovered undeclared 1,200 grams of gold chain worth ₹74 lakh which he had concealed in a pocket. The accused was caught by DRI officials as soon as he landed at KIA from Dubai. Inquiries revealed that he is from Chennai and went to Dubai to look for a job.
The officials suspect that he is a carrier and part of a gold-smuggling racket, which is being probed.
