A Ugandan woman was reportedly arrested at an Indian airport on Tuesday after the authorities found $1 million worth of cocaine hidden in her wig.
According to the Mumbai zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the woman had hidden 890 grams of cocaine in both her wig and her bra pads, as reported by the Hindustan Times.
“The agency seized 890 gm of cocaine after the accused arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) from Entebbe in Uganda via Nairobi, Kenya,” the Times reported.
Watch below as DRI authorities cut open the woman’s wig to reveal the cocaine lying underneath.
A woman from Uganda was caught at Mumbai Airport with cocaine worth 8 crore rupees. She had concealed the cocaine in her wig and bra. pic.twitter.com/AKO47nwhgp
— Avinash K S (@AvinashKS14) December 20, 2023
The woman reportedly worked as a carrier for an unidentified international drug trafficking syndicate, DRI sources told the Times.
“She revealed to the officials that she was promised a payment of around ₹1 lakh for the delivery of the contraband in the city to a designated receiver but she got intercepted by the agency, foiling her smuggling bid,” the Times notes.
The amount, ₹1 lakh, is reportedly equivalent to about $1200.
“It was a meticulously planned operation, wherein officers of DRI Mumbai busted the attempt of cocaine smuggling by a female Ugandan national, adopting a unique and novel modus operandi involving the concealment in bra pads and a hair wig worn by her,” a DRI source told the Times.
The DRI has evidently dealt with similar cases before, including suspects who tried to hide their drugs in sanitary pads, whisky bottles, moisturizer bottles, etc.
As for the woman, she was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985 and tossed into an Indian jail cell.
The Times notes that this occurred just a day after the DRI “nabbed an Indian national who arrived from Sierra Leone on a flight allegedly with 4 kg of cocaine, estimated to be worth around ₹40 crore,” or $4.8 million.
“The carrier had intercepted him at a hotel near CSMIA. A thorough examination of his luggage resulted in the recovery of two packets allegedly containing the contraband material, which was concealed in the upper and lower compartments of his trolley bag,” according to the Indian paper.
Judging by the content on the social media platform X, it appears stuff like this happens pretty often at Indian airports.
Case in point:
DRI Arrested one Indian passenger, who came via Flight no. ET 640 from Addis Ababa to Mumbai
DRI recovered Drugs from his luggage,1496 grams of white powder, purported to be Cocaine with an Illicit market value of approx Rs 15 Crore.#mumbaiairport#Mumbai @CSMIA_Official pic.twitter.com/zICyhxONA5
— Indrajeet chaubey (@indrajeet8080) August 20, 2023
On 19/08/2022 Customs, CSMI Airport, Mumbai seized 500 gms Cocaine worth ₹ 5 Crores and arrested a Sierra Leonean lady pax arriving from Addis Ababa by Ethiopian Airlines Flight No. ET-610. The drugs were found concealed in purse by the pax. @cbic_india pic.twitter.com/57IZpnjuWx
— Mumbai Customs-III (@mumbaicus3) August 20, 2022
On 03.10.2022 Mumbai Airport Customs seized 980 grams Cocaine worth Rs 9.8 Cr from a pax arrived by Ethiopian Airlines flight ET-610 from Addis Ababa. Contraband was concealed in the undergarments. Pax has been arrested & remanded to judicial custody. @cbic_india @nsitharamanoffc pic.twitter.com/8luAHPFb9l
— Mumbai Customs-III (@mumbaicus3) October 3, 2022
But it’s not just the airport in Mumbai where this has occurred. On Dec. 11th, a 40-year-old Nigerian man who flew into Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru was found with 99 capsules of cocaine in his stomach.
“The capsules weighing 2kg and worth Rs 20 crore [$2.5 million] were extracted from him over five days in a hospital,” according to The Times of India.
The man, who reportedly obtained a visa to visit India for “medical reasons,” swallowed the capsules before boarding his flight. However, DRI authorities obtained a magisterial order against him and used that to force him into a hospital to have the capsules removed.
“[T]he Nigerian had planned to take a domestic flight to Delhi after landing in Bengaluru and was scheduled to hand over the smuggled drugs to handlers in the national capital,” the Times notes.
Meanwhile, in October a whopping seven kilograms of cocaine worth $8.5 million were seized from four suspects, including two foreign nationals, at the Mumbai Airport.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.