DRI Seizes ₹15.7 Crore Liquid Cocaine Hidden in Lotion Bottles at Mumbai Airport

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Friday arrested a Kenyan woman at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) after seizing 1.57 litres of liquid cocaine hidden in two bottles of moisturising lotion.

The woman, who had arrived from Addis Ababa, was initially cleared after routine baggage checks. However, DRI officials grew suspicious and examined the lotion bottles more closely. Field test results confirmed the presence of cocaine.

“The seized cocaine is valued at approximately ₹15.71 crore in the illicit market,” said a DRI official. “The passenger has been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and investigations are underway to identify the intended recipient in India.”

Authorities noted that under the Nasha Mukt Bharat initiative, traffickers are increasingly turning to creative concealment techniques to smuggle high-value narcotics like cocaine.

In a separate incident the same day, DRI officers detained a Chadian national arriving from Addis Ababa and recovered 4.015kg of foreign-origin gold, worth ₹3.86 crore, hidden in the heels of his slippers.

The man confessed to hiding the gold to avoid customs detection and was arrested under the Customs Act, 1962. Further investigations are ongoing.