Chennai Airport: Kenyan Woman Arrested with Cocaine Worth ₹15 Crore After Swallowing 70 Capsules
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested a 35-year-old Kenyan woman at Chennai International Airport for allegedly smuggling cocaine worth an estimated ₹15 crore by swallowing capsules containing the drug. Officials seized 850 grammes of high-purity cocaine from her possession.
DRI officers were on surveillance at the airport on Monday after receiving a tip-off that a foreign national would arrive carrying narcotics on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa. The flight landed at around 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, and the woman was intercepted during passenger screening. She had travelled from Kenya to Chennai via Ethiopia on a tourist visa.
During questioning, officers noted discrepancies in her responses and decided to conduct a detailed examination. A search of her luggage yielded no incriminating material. She was then taken to the airport hospital for a medical evaluation. An X-ray allegedly revealed several capsules concealed inside her stomach. With medical assistance, officials recovered approximately 70 capsules from her body.
Tests confirmed that the capsules contained 850 grammes of high-purity cocaine, valued at ₹15 crore in the international illicit market. The drug was seized, and the woman was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The DRI has launched an investigation to identify the intended recipient of the cocaine in Chennai and to trace other members of the international drug trafficking network suspected to be involved.
