DRI Bengaluru Busts International Drug Racket At The Kempegowda Airport

The officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Bengaluru Zonal Unit have busted an international drug racket. A 24-year-old Kenyan, who was smuggling cocaine worth Rs 30 crore was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru.

Based on specific information and after careful surveillance, the officials intercepted the smuggler, who had arrived in Bengaluru from Doha on an IndiGo flight on Friday and nabbed him as soon as he landed at the KIA.

According to the officials, the arrested man is a trafficker. He was given money for travel expenses and to carry a bag from Doha to India. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is now trying to find out who ordered the cocaine worth Rs 30 crore to India and who shipped it from Doha.

This is not the first case of drug smuggling at the Bengaluru airport. Earlier on July 5, DRI officials had seized drugs from two Indian women passengers from Tamil Nadu who were arriving in Bengaluru from Thailand. On searching their bags, a green substance in lumpy form was found. It was hydroponic weed. It weighed 3.2 kg and had an estimated value of Rs 3 crore. The two women were also traffickers. They were paid Rs 25,000 for the trip and a tourist visa, accommodation and food were provided.

This young man from Kenya arrived in Bangalore from Doha on an Indigo flight. He looked quite comfortable. The DRI officials had already received information that a large consignment of cocaine was due to arrive.

Based on suspicion, he was stopped and his check-in baggage was searched. Three kilograms of high-grade cocaine was hidden in a secret pocket at the bottom of the suitcase. The price of this cocaine is Rs 30 crore in the international market.

During the interrogation, it emerged that the bag had been given to the youth in Doha and he had to hand it over to someone after leaving the airport. The Kenyan youth did not know the person who had given him the bag, nor did he know who he had to hand over the bag to in India. He was asked to gather information about who he had to hand over the bag to after leaving the airport.