Couple lands in Kochi, pregnant wife found swallowed drugs in capsule form

KOCHI: DRI officials arrived at the Nedumbassery airport on Friday to examine a Brazilian couple who landed there based on a clear tip-off. The officials got information that the couple was smuggling drugs to Kerala in capsule form. 163 capsules worth about Rs 16 crore were recovered from them.

Brazilian nationals Lucas Batista and his wife Bruna Gabriel smuggled cocaine after swallowing them. An examination conducted found that the woman arrested is pregnant. This was a very dangerous way of smuggling drugs. If the capsules burst inside the body, it can lead to death. The capsules have a plastic coating on the outside. Therefore, there is no possibility of bursting even if they reach the stomach. This belief is the reason why they smuggled drugs at such a high risk.

The couple taken into custody were kept under observation at a private hospital in Angamaly and were fed fruits and vegetables to excrete. 163 pills were removed from their stomach. They were taken from the hospital after another X-ray taken on Tuesday to confirm that there were no tablets in their stomachs. The couple arrested have been remanded.