NCB arrests Peru nationals from Mumbai airport with 4 kg cocaine

NCB arrested two Peru nationals, including a woman, from Mumbai airport for allegedly smuggling over four kg of cocaine into the country, officials said on Thursday. The accused, Michael (35) and Mariya (25), were intercepted on Wednesday when they landed in Mumbai from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, they said.

The operation was based on an input provided by the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the officials said. They were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and 4.3 kg of "high grade" cocaine was seized from them, they said. This is the second instance of smuggling this year in which high quantity of cocaine, a party drug, was seized. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had seized about four kg of cocaine in Cochin earlier this year.

Also read: Mumbai: 25-year-old with Rs 1 lakh fake currency arrested at Masjid Bunder station

In another narcotics case, the agency had arrested three people and seized 56.8 kg of opium and 19.93 kg of poppy straw in Rajasthan's Ajmer district yesterday. This is the biggest seizure of opium in the country this year by any agency, they said. The contraband was seized from the Piplaj Toll plaza on the National Highway-8 and the operation was conducted after surveillance of the area and the accused, they added.

The source of the contraband is suspected to be from Jharkhand's Chatra district, the officials said.

(Edited by mid-day online desk, with inputs from PTI)