Cocaine worth Rs 25-crore seized from foreigner at Nedumbassery airport

Kochi: In the biggest ever haul of cocaine in the state, a Filipina was caught by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials at Nedumbassery airport with 4.8 kg of the contraband valued at Rs 25 crore in the international market on Monday.

The woman named Jonna De Torres (36) arrived at the airport from Sao Paulo in Brazil. She travelled via Addis Ababa and Muscat. Cocaine was found hidden in a wrapped trolley bag she carried.

This is the third big haul of cocaine in a row at this airport. Last month NCB-Cochin had arrested a Venezuelan national with one kilogram of cocaine, and in November a Paraguayan was caught with 3.6 kg of the narcotic drug.

NCB officials are almost sure that an international racket is behind the recent rise in operation but are peeved that they could nab only the carriers. The Filipina was caught when she was found moving suspiciously before immigration clearance.

“When her trolley bag was checked cocaine was found inside. She was understood to be on the lookout for someone outside waiting,” said an official. Officials said that Kochi had become a soft target for narcotic drug trafficking both for local use and transit since major airports have upped surveillance.

New Year demand also must have prompted the racket to smuggle in such a large amount of the contraband. NCB has now decided to intensify the bid to crack the racket and catch the people operating in the state in association with other law enforcement agencies.

NCB officials said that the Filipina would be produced in a magistrate court and NCB will seek her custody for interrogation.