Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials on Monday arrested a 24-year-old Latvian national for trying to smuggle 6.8 kg of cocaine into India at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Authorities revealed that Arters had boarded two flights to reach the Latvian town, identified as El Zinbergs. He said he started his journey from Sao Paulo in Brazil and reached Doha before boarding another flight to reach Mumbai.
A DRI official said, “We had received credible information from our informers that a person was about to reach the airport with a large quantity (of cocaine) from abroad and accordingly we caught him by laying a trap.
After being caught on Monday afternoon, he was taken to the DRI office and questioned for several hours, officials said. He was arrested on Tuesday.
best of express premium
premium
premium
premium
premiumAccording to DRI officials, Ginbergs had hidden the cocaine in small packets inside his trolley bag.
The drugs found with the Zinbergs were tested and later confiscated.
During interrogation, the Latvian revealed that a man in Brazil had given him the bag.
The Zinbergs claimed that they were promised good money in return when the work was completed.
The officials have further disclosed that they are trying to identify and trace the persons to whom he was supposed to hand over the seized material.
Zinbergs was booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
“A person arrested for smuggling such a large quantity of (cocaine) could face 20 years in prison,” an official said.