Mumbai man honey-trapped to smuggle cocaine worth Rs 28 cr from Ethiopia

New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) A Mumbai man was honey-trapped by a woman and forced to smuggle cocaine worth Rs 28.10 crore from Ethiopia into India.

This came to light when the man was held with 2.81 kg of cocaine by the Customs officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai after his arrival from Ethiopia.

A customs official on the condition of anonymity, told IANS that the 49-year-old man, a Mumbai resident, had met a woman on social media. Soon they became friends and the woman lured him to come to Ethiopia.

The man left his private job and went there to meet her. But, on reaching there, when he tried to contact the woman, she told him that she was in Mumbai only. Some men there forced him to carry the bag which had the cocaine in it. The man had no choice but to carry the bag, said a source.

"He was sent back to Mumbai with the cocaine consignment. The accused concealed cocaine in a duffle bag. It was intercepted by the customs officials on the basis of intelligence surveillance," said the official.

The official said that during the investigation he broke down and told the officials that a woman was forcing him to do all this. He said that he was being blackmailed.

"The man has violated provisions of section 8 of the NDPS Act, and has committed an offence punishable under Section 21, Section 23 and Section 29 of NDPS Act. Accordingly, he was placed under arrest. The said the drugs, which is cocaine, has been seized along with concealing material under section 43(a) of NDPS Act," said the official.

The official said that they have informed the local police about the honey-trap matter to investigate.