Mumbai: ‘Family was threatened in order to force me to smuggle drugs’

A 24yearold Brazilian national recently confessed to smuggling 1398 gms of cocaine concealed in 141 capsules which he had swallowed Fearing that the capsules might burst the accused Fernando Jeronimo Santos Da Silva on arriving at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport spilled the beans to Air Intelligence Unit AIU officialsFernandorsquos lawyer Prabhakar Tripathi claimed in the Esplanade Court on Saturday that the youth was forced to smuggle the consignment as the drug syndicate in his home country had threatened to kill his family if he refusedAccording to the police the matter came to light on January 28 ldquoHe had arrived from Paris and he held a Brazilian passport His bag was searched and nothing suspicious was found We then asked him if he had anything in his possession and he confessed that he had undigested capsules full of a narcotic substance He said he was experiencing discomfort in his lower abdomen and that he wanted to use the washroomrdquo a police officer told middayPrabhakar Tripathi Fernandorsquos lawyerFernando was subsequently arrested and produced in the Esplanade Court which directed the governmentrun J J Hospital to recover all the capsules and conduct a medical test on the accused ldquoDuring his stay at the hospital 141 capsules were recovered On February 1 he was produced in the Esplanade Court to secure judicial custodyrdquo a police officer saidTripathi told midday ldquoMy client has told me that the Brazilian mafia coerced him into smuggling cocaine warning that his family would be killed if he failed to comply I prayed for judicial custody for the accused which was granted and hope that there will be a fair investigation into the matterrdquoTripathi added ldquoThis was his first attempt at committing a crime He was quite frightened on arriving at the airport When he saw the police my client told them that he had smuggled the capsules as he was being threatened by the Brazilian mafia He only speaks Portuguese and hence there are communication barriers Efforts have been made to contact his mother He was admitted to J J Hospital for five days and is still frightenedrdquoChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport File picSatej ShindeTraffickersrsquo methodsSmugglers employ a wide array of tactics to elude law enforcement resulting in frequent incidents at Indian airports and ports One method involves using ldquobody packersrdquo who ingest drugs concealed within condomwrapped capsules These objects are meticulously assembled into three layers using balloons condoms cello tape and latex covering Subsequently drug mules are instructed to ingest them through the mouth allowing them to pass into the gastrointestinal tract Alternatively capsules can be inserted into the vagina or rectum but this is less common due to the higher risk of leakage Typically drug mules are directed to swallow the capsules due to their ease of concealment Each capsule is around six to seven cm in size and weighs between 25 and 40 grams The average carrying capacity of a mule is 1 kgAccording to a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNODC traffickers employ specialised machines to load drugs into capsules and in some instances drug mules are provided with a druglaced soup to numb their throats to facilitate the smooth passage of the objects Anaesthesia is also sprayed into their mouths at times enabling them to swallow as many as 120 capsulesRecovery processWhen such passengers are identified they are immediately transported to the hospital for Xrays After confirming the presence of concealed items they are placed in a dedicated hospital room under police protection with a team of officials and doctors closely monitoring their condition To aid in the natural expulsion of drugfilled balloons these individuals are provided with an assortment of foods including bananas milk and juiceIn some cases African nationals may decline to consume bananas or milk so the authorities accommodate their dietary preferences often providing items like fried rice and sandwiches The utmost care is taken in their management as even a minor error could result in lifethreatening consequences1 kgAverage carrying capacity of a drug mulePrevious incidentsThe Directorate of Revenue Intelligence DRI recorded ten cases between May 2021 and August 2023 In these they arrested 12 individuals hailing from underdeveloped African countries found harbouring various drugs inside their bodies These operations resulted in the recovery of drugs worth Rs 105 crore While Mumbai airport witnessed three such cases in 2023 in March 2024 the DRI arrested two Nigerian nationals who were smuggling 2976 kg of cocaine worth Rs 30 crore in 167 capsules The duo was admitted to J J Hospital for three days and all capsules purged In June a Benin national who had ingested 43 capsules with 504 grams of heroin worth around R5 crore was arrested He was subsequently admitted at J J Hospital for 10 days during which he expelled all the capsules In August 2024 DRI apprehended a Ugandan national who had swallowed 65 capsules containing 785 gm of drugs valued at Rs 785 crore