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Gazi Abbas Shahid
Starting as a ground reporter back in his home UT of Jammu and Kashmir, Gazi has been a part of the news industry for well over a decade. While he finds every type of news engrossing, politics, partic ... Read More
Doctors removed as many as 74 cocaine-filled capsules from the stomach of a Sierra Leone national after he was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at the Mumbai airport. Officials said the accused was attempting to smuggle cocaine worth Rs 11 crore in capsules concealed in his body.
The man was arrested by the DRI on March 28 and the drug-filled capsules, weighing 1,108 grams, were removed from his body by a team of doctors at the state-run J J Hospital on Saturday, they said.
As per an official statement issued by the DRI on Sunday, the anti-smuggling agency, based on specific information, arrested the Sierra Leone national upon his arrival at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on March 28.
During questioning, the accused revealed that he had ingested cocaine capsules in bid to smuggle the banned narcotic substance into India.
Following a court order, the accused was admitted to the JJ Hospital where a team of doctors removed 74 cocaine capsules from his abdomen, the DRI statement said, adding that the man has been arrested and booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and sent to judicial custody.
Notably, this is the second case in a week involving a Sierra Leone national held with cocaine at the Mumbai airport.
On March 24, a woman from the West African nation was arrested with 1,979 grams of cocaine valued at Rs 19.79 crore.
She had concealed the drug in shoes, moisturiser, shampoo bottles, and antiperspirants.
(With PTI inputs)
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