The Namibian national detained at Kempegowda International Airport on Monday with cocaine capsules in his gastronomic tract was carrying 1.05 kg of the substance in a total of 70 capsules, investigators have ascertained. The total worth of the seizure is estimated to be over Rs. 5 crore.
NCB sources said doctors at Victoria Hospital removed 69 capsules containing over 15 gms each of cocaine from the body of the 38-year-old suspect. “We intercepted the Namibian after he disembarked from his flight from Abu Dhabi via Sao Paola. Inspection revealed one capsule with cocaine cover in a latex cover in his jacket and upon interrogation he revealed that he was carrying more capsules in his body which was causing him discomfort,” said an investigating officer.
Transported by an ambulance to Victoria Hospital, 69 additional capsules were removed from his body in a procedure that went on until midnight, the officer added.
The Namibian national is still under observation at the hospital and is likely to be remanded to judicial custody and lodged in prison in a few days.
NCB sleuths are probing the identity of the receiver of the contraband in Bengaluru who is suspected to have ordered the cocaine, possibly to fuel a thriving rave party scene here. It is suspected that one or more organised drug gangs are operating in the city, smuggling psychotropic substances through mules directly from South America.
