Kenyan woman arrested in Mumbai smuggling cocaine
During questioning, Indagasi confessed to the detectives that she had swallowed drug-filled capsules.
A 43-year-old Kenyan has been arrested at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, India, while she was allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country.
Reports by The Indian Express indicate that the suspect, identified as Florence Indangasi, was intercepted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) after landing at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport from Nairobi on Friday, July 8.
Detectives detained the suspect following intelligence reports and a thorough search of her luggage and clothing yielded no incriminating evidence. However, during questioning, Indagasi confessed to the detectives that she had swallowed drug-filled capsules.
With court approval, Indangasi was taken to JJ Hospital for a medical examination. There, doctors successfully recovered six pellets from her digestive system, with analysis confirming that the capsules contained a total of 665.5 grams of cocaine in powder form.
She was subsequently booked under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and placed under arrest.
This is among the latest cases of Kenyans being arrested abroad trying to smuggle drugs into various countries.
In early April, another 43-year-old Kenyan woman was detained in India after she was arrested by Customs officials at the same airport with cocaine worth Sh300 million.
The suspect was identified as Emily Rodha, was smuggling the cocaine into India, having concealed it in her trolley bag.
Reports by the Indian Express indicated that Rhoda had arrived in Mumbai via Doha, Qatar, before she was intercepted by the officials at the airport.
“The customs department on Wednesday stated that based on spot profiling, one passenger, Emily Rodha, aged 43 years, who arrived from Nairobi to Mumbai via Doha in flight QR1342/6E1304, was intercepted by the customs officers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport with a powdered substance purported to be cocaine,” the Indian Express reported. It is indicated that the cocaine was 1,789 grammes.
After a thorough interrogation, the Kenyan was placed under arrest as per relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for smuggling commercial quantities of drugs.
Further reports indicated that Rhoda was given the consignment in Nairobi by another woman who promised to pay her Sh1 million once the Cocaine was successfully delivered to her associate in Delhi.
The Indian customs officials are also checking her travel history to find whether she smuggled narcotics or any other banned or restricted items to India in the past, even as the investigators are also trying to find out details of her other associates involved in the smuggling racket.
