The arrested Nigerian woman caught with drugs worth Rs 36 crore.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Mumbai: In a coordinated intelligence-based joint operation, a foreign national was arrested from a train with narcotics to the tune of Rs 36 crore at Panvel in Maharashtra's Raigad district.
The operation was carried out by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Central Railway (CR), Panvel, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Bengaluru, and Crime Intelligence Branch (CIB) Kurla, Mumbai.
The narcotics was onboard Train No. 12618 Hazrat Nizamuddin-Ernakulam Mangala Express.
The operation was carried out based on information received by NCB Bengaluru.
Acting swiftly, the authorities conducted a search operation upon the train’s arrival at Platform No. 7 of Panvel Railway Station.
During the search, a Nigerian woman accompanied by an infant and carrying a multicolour travel bag was found in Coach A-2, Seat No. 27.
She identified herself as Etumudon Doris, a Nigerian, and claimed that the child with her, named Miracle, was her own.
Upon interrogation in the presence of witnesses, the woman confessed to carrying narcotic substances.
She was brought to RPF Post, Panvel, where her belongings were thoroughly searched. Inside the travel bag she was carrying, officials discovered two rectangular black packages wrapped in rubber material labelled “VINTAGE.”
Upon testing using a drug detection kit, the contents tested positive for cocaine.
A total quantity of 2.002 kg of cocaine was recovered, CR officials said.
Further, inspection revealed a red-and-blue Mickey Mouse-themed children’s bag within the main carry bag.
This smaller bag contained two paper packages—one labeled “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes” and the other “Bongchi Perfect Roll.” The packets were found to contain white crystalline substances identified as methamphetamine weighing 1.488 kgs.
“The seized narcotics, with a combined estimated market value of approximately Rs 36 crore, were taken into custody,” the CR said.