New Delhi: Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Hyderabad on Tuesday formally arrested a Tanzanian-origin air traveller, after recovering from him a total of 79 capsules filled with cocaine, with an estimated market price of somewhere around Rs 11.57 crore mark. This comes five days after the former was detained by DRI officials after he landed in Hyderabad from Johannesburg via Dubai in Emirates flight EK 0528, back on April 21.
The passenger, upon interrogation, had revealed at that time that he had ingested capsules containing cocaine. He subsequently purged 22 capsules at the airport, thereafter seeking immediate medical assistance. After he was admitted to a hospital in the city, he gradually expelled 57 more capsules throughout the span of the next five days. The narcotic content was covered with adhesive, transparent tape.
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The traveler has been charged under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act. It has been learnt that he flew from Tanzania to Johannesburg in South Africa, and then to Pretoria, where he swallowed the capsules before flying to India. The interrogation has further revealed that he was tasked with expelling the capsules over a period of three to four days and then handing them over to another person unknown to him.
The accused, after arrest, was produced before the court and sent to judicial custody. Further probe is on.
