A dramatic arrest occurred on Friday at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), when Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officers apprehended a Kenyan smuggling nearly 2 kilogrammes of liquid cocaine.
The narcotics, hidden in shampoo and lotion bottles, were worth around ₹20 crore (Ksh306,435,486 in current exchange rates) on the grey market.
Based on specific intelligence, DRI officials became aware of the Kenyan passenger who had arrived from Nairobi.
Officers acted on this tip-off and searched her luggage, discovering the illegal substance.
The substance, initially disguised as a regular shampoo, tested positive for cocaine under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) of 1985.
Following her arrest, the Kenyan national was brought before a city court and remanded into judicial custody.
Investigators believe she was a courier for a sophisticated international narcotics syndicate.
Her interrogation is aimed at determining the identities of her accomplices, handlers, and potential contraband end users.
The DRI investigation revealed that traffickers are increasingly employing creative concealment techniques to avoid detection.
This syndicate used a tactic in which liquid cocaine was disguised in everyday items such as shampoo bottles, making traditional screening methods ineffective.
This incident is part of a larger pattern of smuggling operations discovered by the DRI.
Over the past year, officials have encountered numerous cases where carriers used air travel to transport narcotics, often using elaborate concealment techniques.
Despite the small quantities involved, detecting these drugs remains a significant challenge.
Earlier this year, DRI Mumbai officers seized 19.79 kilogrammes of cocaine worth around ₹19.79 crores (about Ksh303,217,913 in current exchange rates) from a foreign national suspected of belonging to a similar trafficking network.
The cocaine was discovered during a thorough baggage check, emphasizing the importance of airport security screening.
Last month, DRI Bengaluru Zone Unit (DRI, BZU) apprehended a 24-year-old Kenyan national at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) for smuggling cocaine worth ₹30 crore (approximately Ksh459,653,229 at current exchange rate).
The drugs were hidden in a false bottom of the passenger’s luggage, demonstrating the lengths traffickers will go to conceal their illegal activities.
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