India News | Guj: Cocaine Worth Rs 20 Cr Found Hidden in Protein Packets Recovered at Airport from South African Man

Ahmedabad, Aug 12 (PTI) The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Thursday apprehended a South African national and recovered from him cocaine worth Rs 20 crore at the Ahmedabad international airport, an official said.

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The drug was found concealed inside protein supplement packets, he said.

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The accused, Derick Pillay (38), was nabbed on his arrival at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here from Doha, said S K Mishra, zonal director of the NCB's Ahmedabad unit.

"He had boarded the flight from Johannesburg on August 11. Our teams worked with the immigration bureau and intercepted the suspect on his arrival here. We recovered 4.2 kg of cocaine from his possession. The contraband was neatly concealed inside packets of a protein supplement to dodge the authorities," Mishra said.

Sources said that the seized cocaine is worth Rs 20 crore as per the current rates in the international market.

"The NCB is keeping a watch on international drug traffickers, as we have received information about drug trafficking through airports. Pillay had been on our radar for some time and the Delhi NCB unit had issued a look out circular against him," Mishra said, adding that further probe is underway.

In a release, the NCB zonal unit claimed that the seizure of 4.2 kg of cocaine "is among the largest seizure of cocaine from the SVP International Airport in many years".

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)