A drug smuggler was hospitalised after he swallowed 90 cocaine capsules. (Representational)
Narcotics Control Bureau investigators have arrested a Nigerian for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country cocaine after "swallowing" 90 capsules filled with the party drug.
The man, identified as Okonkwoh M Tony, was apprehended a few days ago after he landed at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.
He was admitted to a hospital of the Delhi Zonal unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Officials said he has ejected 90 cocaine-filled capsules weighing 1.3kg in two days.
They said Tony had initially misled the sleuths saying he had come to India for business purpose while carrying a tourist visa.
"He was admitted at a hospital and after medical intervention, he ejected the drug-filled capsules. He told investigators that he had swallowed these at a guest house in Lagos and then reached Addis Ababa via Lome (Togo). He was apprehended as soon as he landed here from the Ethiopian capital," an official said.
The officials claimed Tony was supposed to hand over the drug capsules to another Nigerian national here, whom the agency has been trailing.
Tony has been arrested under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. This is the fourth case of seizure of cocaine by the NCB in Delhi in the last one month.
They said the method of smuggling after swallowing the drug is not easy to detect as it is hard to identify any concealment inside the body.