Kochi, Jan 27: In a significant drug seizure at Cochin International Airport, security personnel detected contraband during routine screening of registered baggage at the Domestic Terminal on Monday evening, and the woman passenger involved is currently under Customs custody and scheduled to be produced before the court on Tuesday.
The incident occurred when CIAL’s inline screening staff noticed suspicious contents in a checked-in bag.
On detailed inspection, the contraband was found cleverly concealed in a false bottom of the registered baggage. During a thorough physical examination carried out at Level 4 of the terminal, security officials recovered two packets hidden inside the baggage.
Following the detection, the Duty Manager promptly informed the Customs authorities. Subsequently, the passenger, along with the seized contraband and the baggage, was handed over to Customs officials for further examination and legal action.
The passenger had arrived in Kochi from Doha and later reported at the Domestic Terminal to travel to Delhi on an Air India flight, AI 1828.
Customs officials stated that the seized substance has been identified as Methaqualone, weighing 3.98 kg. The approximate value of the contraband in the international market is estimated to be around ₹2 crore.
Further investigations are in progress to ascertain the source and intended destination of the contraband.