A Kenyan woman has been arrested for smuggling in cocaine valued at Sh560 million (₹ 38 crore) that was concealed inside whiskey bottles.
The woman was arrested on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, at the international airport in Delhi, according to local media. The accused was intercepted after her arrival from Kenya via Addis Ababa.
Custom officials said 2.5 kg cocaine was concealed in three whiskey bottles and was recovered from a bag, belonging to a duty-free shop, carried by the woman. During interrogation, the woman revealed that the bag she was carrying was handed over to her in Nairobi, and she was to hand it over to a person in Delhi.
This is the second arrest within a week after another Kenyan woman was also arrested on June 15 at the same airport while carrying cocaine also concealed in whiskey bottles. The 25-year-old woman was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport after her arrival from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).
A detailed search resulted in the recovery of two whiskey bottles with cocaine, worth approximately Sh220 million (₹13 crore), dissolved in them, the official said. The accused was arrested and the whiskey bottles containing cocaine were seized.
“These two bottles were handed over to her at Nairobi airport. She was supposed to hand over them to a person in Delhi,” the official told local media. The passenger was taken to court and was detained for 14 days.
In February, a Kenya Airways passenger was arrested in India for trying to smuggle heroin worth Sh127 million.
According to India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the female passenger was arrested at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. The DRI said that upon interrogation, the suspect, who was identified as Rukshana Shaikh, said the drugs were handed over to her in Harare, and that the same were to be delivered to two persons in Mumbai.
The passenger arrived in India from Harare via Nairobi on board a Kenya Airways flight, police were quoted by local media.
Sandwiched between the major drug production regions and located in one of the busiest maritime and aero traffic regions of the world, India is most vulnerable to the menace of narcotics trafficking.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) in its 2022 Annual Report, noted “proactive regulations” by India to deal with the illicit manufacture of large quantities of synthetic drugs, which explains the extra vigilance leading to the arrest of mules in recent days.
