New Delhi: Based on an input from Interpol, the CBI Thursday intercepted a German national of Indian origin travelling with 6 kg of cocaine worth around Rs 30 crore at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, ThePrint has learnt. Agency sources said the drugs were hidden in soft toys, in the form of capsules.
The accused, identified as Ashok Kumar, was travelling from Doha to New Delhi aboard an Indigo Airlines flight, it is learnt.
“There were 270 capsules that he had concealed inside two soft toys. They were stitched inside the toys and the cotton padding was used to conceal them,” a CBI source said. “We received an input from the Interpol, following which a trap was laid. The German national who was trying to evade the authorities had concealed the capsules inside kids’ toys but because of a strong input and thorough checking, he was caught.”
Kumar has been detained for questioning.
Agency sources said they suspect Kumar has made multiple trips to New Delhi from Doha pushing drugs.
“He was carrying over 270 capsules. We suspect that it is not the first time he has done this. It is suspected that he has been working as a carrier for long,” said a source, adding, “The Interpol had specific input about Kumar.”
In March this year, the CBI had seized narcotics which were being passed off as dry yeast from Visakhapatnam airport, again on a tip-off from Interpol.
Officials had detained a shipping container as part of ‘Operation Garuda’, along with customs officials. The container, which had 25,000 kg yeast, was booked from Santos Port in Brazil for delivery in Visakhapatnam by a private company. The cocaine was mixed in the dry yeast, it is learnt.
“International syndicates are involved in pushing narcotics into India through land, sea and by air routes. CBI has been working closely with the Interpol to act on these inputs,” the source quoted earlier said.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)