Heroin worth Rs 8.86 crore seized; Tanzanian arrested

CHENNAI: In one of the major seizures by the Customs department in recent times, over one kg of banned drug heroin worth Rs 8.86 crore was seized by the authorities and a citizen from Tanzania was arrested in this connection, an official said on Thursday.

Acting on specific information, the department officials intercepted the passenger who arrived here from Entebbe, Uganda, on July 14 and recovered the drug which was in capsule form, a release from the Commissioner of Customs, KR Uday Bhaskar said.

The passenger had swallowed 86 capsules and on extraction, the drug weighing 1.26 kg worth Rs 8.86 crore was recovered from him. The heroin was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 and Customs Act, 1962.

The passenger was arrested and an investigation was on, the release said.

In May, the Customs department had recovered heroin worth Rs 6.58 crore and arrested Uganda national for allegedly smuggling it into India.

The passenger who arrived here from Sharjah had consumed 80 capsules containing heroin in powder form.