Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Monday intercepted a Malawi national at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in possession of cocaine with an illicit market value of Rs 6 crore.
“Officers of Mumbai zonal unit had received input that one passenger, Ellena Kasakatira, a female Malawi national, aged around 43 years, travelling from Addis Ababa to Mumbai via Dubai, was supposed to land at 2.20 pm and had concealed certain narcotics substance covered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) in her baggage. Upon her arrival, Kasakatira was identified with the help of her passport at the arrival hall of the airport. She was carrying a trolley bag with her which was then examined under the provisions of NDPS Act, 1985,” sources said.
During the examination, two packages concealed in the special cavity made in her trolley bag and wrapped using black coloured carbon paper was found. On examination, each package was found to contain 500 grams of cocaine inside it. A total of 1000 grams of cocaine, having a market value of Rs 6 crore, was recovered from the baggage, sources said.
Kasakatira was arrested under NDPS Act, 1985 and produced before the additional chief metropolitan magistrate on Tuesday. She was remanded in judicial custody till December 7. This is the second seizure of cocaine by the officers of DRI within a span of a week.
Earlier, DRI officers had seized 502 grams of cocaine which was shipped to India in a parcel and had arrested four persons in connection to the same.
Cocaine causes a short-lived, intense high and immediately followed by the opposite—intense depression and craving for more drugs. It increases heart rate, muscle spasms and convulsions. The drug can also make people feel paranoid, angry, hostile and anxious.
