CHENNAI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Chennai International Airport on Monday arrested a 35-year-old Kenyan woman for allegedly trying to smuggle cocaine after ingesting it in capsule form. Officials seized as many as 70 capsules of the drug, weighing a total of 700 grams, from her stomach.
The surveillance was conducted at the airport after receiving inputs that a foreign national would arrive on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa carrying narcotics.
The woman, who had travelled from Kenya on a tourist visa, was intercepted during passenger screening. As her responses during questioning were inconsistent, she was subjected to further examination.
Although no contraband was found in her baggage, an X-ray at the airport hospital allegedly revealed multiple capsules inside her stomach. With the assistance from a medical team, the officials recovered around 70 capsules from her body.
Examination confirmed they contained cocaine. The narcotics were seized and the woman was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.