The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 3.129 kg of heroin, valued at approximately Rs 21.9 crore, from a Malawian woman at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, officials said on Monday, April 25. The seizure and arrest were made on Sunday. The Malawian national was travelling on a business visa by Qatar Airways from Nairobi to Hyderabad via Doha.
Acting on a specific intelligence input, sleuths of DRI, Hyderabad Zone intercepted her for checking. The contraband was found concealed in her trolley bag. "Thorough examination of her checked-in baggage (trolley bag) by the DRI officers revealed a concealment of 3.129 kg of heroin, valued at approximately Rs 21.90 crore in the international grey market," the DRI said.
The contraband was tightly packed in two polythene covers and was concealed in a specially created false bottom, at the base of the trolley bag. The passenger was arrested by the DRI and produced before a court, which sent her to judicial custody. Further investigation is underway, the DRI said.
Earlier on March 31, customs officials at the Hyderabad airport seized nearly 700 grams of gold from a passenger who arrived from Dubai. Six gold bars weighing 699.5 grams and valued at Rs 37.30 lakh were detected and seized from a male passenger who arrived from Dubai. He had concealed the gold in his check-in baggage.
A couple of days earlier, on March 29, customs officials had detected and seized 231.5 grams of gold, valued at Rs 12.33 lakh, from a male passenger who arrived from Dubai. The gold was coated with rhodium and concealed as small rings between beads of two neck chains hidden in garments in check-in baggage. Earlier, on March 26, 255.6 grams of gold, valued at Rs 13.63 lakh, was seized from a male passenger who had also arrived from Dubai. According to customs officials, the gold was coated with silver and concealed inside the supporting metal frame of the trolley bag.