Nigerian with 99 cocaine capsules worth Rs 20 crore in stomach nabbed at Bengaluru airport

BENGALURU: In the biggest cocaine smuggling attempt at Bengaluru Airport by a single individual, a Nigerian national, carrying two kilograms of the drug in 99 capsules inside his stomach, flew from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Bengaluru. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths at the airport apprehended him. The cocaine, valued at a staggering Rs 20 crore, was seized after the suspect underwent a five-day hospital stay for the extraction.

According to reliable sources, the smuggler, a 40-year-old Nigerian passport holder on a medical treatment visa to India, was intercepted by the DRI's Bengaluru unit at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) upon his arrival on December 11, 2023, via an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.

Acting on a tip-off about the significant smuggling operation, investigators detained the African man. Subsequent interrogation revealed that he had ingested cocaine capsules before boarding the flight in Addis Ababa. A court order was obtained for his arrest, and he was escorted to a hospital for medical supervision. Over five days, all the drug capsules were successfully extracted from his body, sources confirmed.

Ultimately, on Friday, the DRI Bengaluru team determined that the suspect had swallowed a total of 99 capsules containing cocaine, weighing two kilograms and estimated at a current international value of Rs 20 crore. The Nigerian was apprehended by the enforcement agency and charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for drug smuggling. He was remanded to judicial custody and housed in the Parappana Agrahara prison complex in Bengaluru the following day. Further investigations are ongoing into the smuggling operation at KIA.

Investigators discovered that the African had intended to board a domestic flight to Delhi after landing in Bengaluru and planned to hand over the smuggled drugs to handlers in the capital. However, his plans were thwarted at Bengaluru Airport.

The cocaine smuggling incident on December 11 marked the largest drug smuggling attempt by a single individual inside his body, as the Nigerian had ingested 99 capsules, carrying a full two kilograms of the contraband, as confirmed by sources.