• Source:JND
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Chennai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized nearly 6 kilograms of high-grade cocaine at the Chennai International Airport, cleverly packed to resemble chocolates from a premium brand. The drugs, valued at around Rs 60 crore in the black market, were intercepted in a joint operation with the Air Intelligence Unit of Customs.

Two passengers were detained after arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday. The men, aged 25 and 26, hail from Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar district and Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district. According to officials, both had travelled to India multiple times in the past for drug trafficking.

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Following their arrest, the probe widened. A Nigerian national was picked up in Delhi for allegedly running the syndicate’s distribution network, while another man from Chamba was detained in Mumbai. Investigators believe the group is part of a larger transnational cartel smuggling cocaine from Ethiopia to India.

Officials said cocaine is usually sold in one-gram sachets in India, fetching between Rs 8,000 and Rs 12,000 depending on its purity. The seized stock, considered a high-grade variety, was destined for different parts of the country, with Delhi as the main hub for further distribution.

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NCB also revealed that the Nigerian national had entered India in 2023 on a medical visa but had been overstaying since last year. The network reportedly had support from an Indian-origin contact in Addis Ababa, who arranged supplies and distributed profits among members.

The agency has now shared details of overstaying foreigners, especially African nationals suspected of drug trafficking, with state authorities for action under the Foreigners Act. Investigations are continuing to track down other members of the cartel.