NEW DELHI: A Liberian man who ingested 60 capsules containing cocaine worth more than Rs 15 crore has been arrested by the customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, authorities on Wednesday said.
The man was intercepted after his arrival from Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa via Doha in Qatar on September 20, it said.
The passenger during questioning informed the officers that he had ingested capsules containing narcotics or psychotropic substances. He was taken to a hospital for medical procedures.
"The passenger eased out 60 oval shaped capsules during his stay at Safdarjung Hospital," the customs department said in the statement.
The capsules, when cut open, were found to be carrying white powder/granules suspected to be narcotic.
The substance, weighing just over 1 kg, turned out to be cocaine, with an estimated price of Rs 15.21 crore, the statement said.
In another case, the customs department seized gold worth more than Rs 1.8 crore from seven Uzbekistan nationals, including a juvenile, who tried to smuggle it into the country through the IGI airport.
The accused were intercepted after their arrival from Almaty (Kazakhstan) on September 25.
"All seven passengers (six female and a male) were related to each other and they connived together in smuggling of foreign-origin gold in India.
"The detailed examination of the baggage and personal search of the seven passengers resulted in recovery of gold total weighing 2,739 grams having tariff value of Rs 1,80,51,149," read another statement issued by the customs.
The gold was seized and six people, barring the minor, were arrested, it said.
The juvenile passenger was kept under detention, it added.