Mumbai: A foreign national who allegedly smuggled 2.6kg of cocaine worth Rs 26.62 crore from Senegal was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at Mumbai airport early Friday.
On specific intelligence, the officials of the DRI intercepted a national of the Republic of Senegal identified as Thoma Mendy (40), who arrived from Nairobi at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. On suspicion that he was likely carrying a narcotic substance, the officials examined him and his baggage, which was unusually heavier and rigid even after his personal belongings were removed.
Upon opening a carton, they found two packets containing a white powdery substance purported to be drugs. With the help of a field test kit, it was confirmed the contraband was cocaine weighing around 2,600 grams. Officials then recorded Mendy’s statement under the sections of the NDPS Act.
During interrogations, it was found that he also had a nickname as Joseph Iwuchukwu Okechukwu. He said that the bag containing narcotics was handed over to him by one person of African ethnicity at a hotel in Sierra Leone, and he was aware that the parcel he was carrying contained cocaine. He further said that during his trip from Nairobi, he was in touch with other drug syndicate members on whose instruction he carried the drug into India.
He said that the syndicate promised him 3000 USD in Mumbai for the successful delivery of the drugs, and on previous occasions, he used to secure his entry into India using fake passports and smuggled cocaine.
Mumbai: A foreign national who allegedly smuggled 2.6kg of cocaine worth Rs 26.62 crore from Senegal was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at Mumbai airport early Friday.
On specific intelligence, the officials of the DRI intercepted a national of the Republic of Senegal identified as Thoma Mendy (40), who arrived from Nairobi at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. On suspicion that he was likely carrying a narcotic substance, the officials examined him and his baggage, which was unusually heavier and rigid even after his personal belongings were removed.
Upon opening a carton, they found two packets containing a white powdery substance purported to be drugs. With the help of a field test kit, it was confirmed the contraband was cocaine weighing around 2,600 grams. Officials then recorded Mendy’s statement under the sections of the NDPS Act.
During interrogations, it was found that he also had a nickname as Joseph Iwuchukwu Okechukwu. He said that the bag containing narcotics was handed over to him by one person of African ethnicity at a hotel in Sierra Leone, and he was aware that the parcel he was carrying contained cocaine. He further said that during his trip from Nairobi, he was in touch with other drug syndicate members on whose instruction he carried the drug into India.
He said that the syndicate promised him 3000 USD in Mumbai for the successful delivery of the drugs, and on previous occasions, he used to secure his entry into India using fake passports and smuggled cocaine.