Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai Unit on Thursday unravelled a unique modus operandi of smuggling drugs. While checking the baggage of a Nigerian passenger who landed at the international airport, the DRI found cocaine, worth Rs20 crore, dissolved in two whiskey bottles of 1 litre each.
The DRI had already received a tip-off that some narcotic substance was being smuggled into India. Hence, the agency had stepped up surveillance which helped in identifying the suspected passenger who had arrived from Lagos via Addis Ababa.
A thorough search of his baggage led to the recovery of whiskey bottles. The cocaine, mixed in the alcoholic beverage, was detected after testing by the drug detection kit. The passenger was subsequently arrested.
“The gross weight of two bottles with liquid cocaine is approximately 3.56kg. Cocaine was ingeniously dissolved in the liquid contained in the said bottles, making it extremely difficult to detect. This is a unique modus operandi,” said the DRI official.
