New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested a 31-year-old Tanzanian man for allegedly smuggling heroin worth $156,000 US. According to officials, Brayton N Lyimo was apprehended by the agency at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Tuesday night after he arrived there from Mumbai.
"The man was intercepted at the airport as the agency was working on some intelligence inputs on the activities of international drug cartels. His contacts in Delhi and few other places are under our scanner," Madho Singh, the NCB Zonal Director said on Wednesday.
Delhi: Narcotics Control Bureau arrested a Tanzanian national at IGI airport with 4.8 kg Heroin; Investigation underway. #Delhipic.twitter.com/kHWwbXcMZe
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Lyimo had reportedly arrived in Mumbai from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) on Tuesday and then traveled Delhi. He was carrying 4.8 kg of heroin in his check-in baggage. Primary investigations suggested that Lyimo had taken the contraband from a person in Tanzania who had asked him to hand it over to a Nigerian national living in Delhi.
Delhi's Indira Gandhi international airport is the most commonly used airport by drug smugglers and official data suggest that it accounts for nearly half of all drug busts at Indian airports. Last year, a total of 47 drug smuggling cases were detected at airports across the country, out of which 22 were in Delhi, the NCB data shows.