The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested a Zambian woman at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport after 11 cocaine capsules were allegedly recovered from her body, ANI reported, citing a DRI statement. The DRI's Mumbai Zonal Unit said the interception was an intelligence-led operation.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

According to the DRI, the passenger arrived at the airport on October 20, 2026, travelling from Freetown in Sierra Leone via Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Officers suspected she was acting as a human carrier who had concealed the narcotic inside her body by swallowing drug-filled capsules.

During a medical examination conducted on October 20 and 21, the passenger expelled 11 capsules containing a white powder, the DRI said. Field testing confirmed the substance was cocaine. The capsules held 190 grams of cocaine in gross weight, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore in the international illicit market — yaani, about ten million rupees.

The contraband was seized and the passenger was arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, officials said. The allegations against her are yet to be tested in court.

The DRI said further investigation is underway to unravel the wider network behind the alleged smuggling attempt and identify other persons involved. The agency said the case highlights how international trafficking networks exploit air travel and human carriers, and that it remains committed to the government's Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan against narcotics.

Source: ANI via Daily Prabhat