Passenger arrested with 5 kg of cocaine at Hyderabad airport, says DRI

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) The DRI has arrested a man in possession of five kilograms of cocaine valued at 50 crore rupees at Hyderabad airport.

The illicit substance was meticulously concealed within hidden compartments of a checked suitcase and within concealed compartments discovered in four ladies' handbags, all within the checked baggage, said an official on Saturday.

According to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), specific intelligence inputs were received on Friday regarding the presence of a narcotic drug at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, from an Indian national.

"A passenger was apprehended, and the contraband, wrapped in brown tape, was ingeniously hidden in the false bottom of a check-in suitcase and concealed within false bottoms of four ladies' handbags carried within the check-in baggage. A total of five kilograms of cocaine, valued at approximately Rs. 50 crore in the international grey market, was recovered," said a senior DRI official.

"The passenger had traveled from Laos to Hyderabad via Singapore and was en route to Delhi. As cocaine falls under the category of narcotic drugs according to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985, it has been seized. The passenger has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody," added the official.