Stepping up its fight against narcotics smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) carried out coordinated operations based on intelligence inputs. Around 7.1 kg of amphetamine was seized in two of these operations and around 3.1 kg of cocaine in a third, and three persons were arrested. The recoveries took place at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, near Nagpur, and at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) in New Delhi.
In the first case, DRI officers acted on specific intelligence and stopped a passenger who had flown into Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, from Delhi on 14th October 2026. A check of his baggage turned up 5.166 kg of amphetamine. The substance was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the passenger was placed under arrest.
Two days after that, DRI officers conducted another intelligence-based operation near Khapa Phata in Saoner, on the outskirts of Nagpur, where they stopped an Indian national travelling on a Delhi–Hyderabad bus. A search of his backpack found a white crystalline substance hidden inside a new ladies’ suit.
Because the backpack felt unusually heavy, the officers checked its inner lining and found one more hidden packet holding a similar substance. A field test came back positive for amphetamine. Altogether, 1.97 kg of amphetamine was recovered and seized under the NDPS Act, 1985, and the passenger was arrested.
The third operation took place on 15/16.10.26. Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers stopped an Indian passenger who had landed at Terminal 3 of IGI Airport, New Delhi, from Ghana. A thorough search of his baggage revealed six transparent packets of white powder with a combined weight of 3.134 kg, which tested positive for cocaine in a field test. The drug was seized under the NDPS Act, 1985, and the passenger was arrested.
The operations highlight DRI’s continuing drive to break narcotics supply chains, uncover clever concealment techniques and stop dangerous narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances from moving through India’s air and road networks.