Three foreigners held for smuggling cocaine worth nearly Rs 40 crore at Delhi airport: Customs

New Delhi: Three foreign nationals have been arrested for smuggling cocaine worth nearly Rs 40 crore at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here, the customs department said on Sunday.

The accused -- two Brazilian women and a Kenyan man -- who had ingested cocaine-filled capsules were arrested in separate cases, it said.

In the first case, a 26-year-old Brazilian passenger was intercepted after her arrival from Sao Paulo via Paris on January 28.

During questioning, the passenger informed the officers that she had secreted capsules containing narcotics or psychotropic substances, the customs department said in a post on X.

The passenger was then taken to Safdarjung Hospital for medical procedures. During her stay at the hospital, she eased out 98 capsules which resulted in the recovery of 866 grams of cocaine, estimated to be valued at Rs 12.99 crore, it said, adding that the passenger has been arrested.

Customs officials had on January 24, intercepted another female passenger from Brazil. She too had arrived via Paris from Sao Paulo.

"Upon interrogation, the passenger confessed to ingesting drug capsules. She was immediately taken to hospital, where she eased out 100 oval-shaped capsules over the next few hours. When these were cut open, they contained white powder suspected to be cocaine," the customs said in another post.

The seized drugs, weighing 802 grams, have an estimated street value of Rs 12.03 crore, it said.

"Initial tests confirmed the presence of high-purity cocaine, indicating a sophisticated smuggling network trying to push drugs into India," the customs said.

A Kenyan man was intercepted after his arrival from Addis Ababa on January 24.

The passenger, during questioning, also admitted to having ingested cocaine-filled capsules.

He was taken to Safdarjung Hospital where he eased out 67 capsules filled with 996 grams of cocaine, valued at Rs 14.94 crore.

"Given the sheer quantity, this was clearly part of a larger international smuggling network trying to push drugs into India," the customs said in a separate post.

All three cases involved body concealment smuggling, a high-risk trafficking method, it said.

"The swift action by IGI airport customs officers has prevented nearly 2.66 kg of cocaine worth Rs 39.96 cr from hitting Indian markets! Investigations are ongoing to uncover the larger network behind these operations," the post said.