Action on specific intelligence, officers of the DRI seized cocaine, a narcotic drug under the NDPS Act 1985, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad from an Indian national on September 1.
The contraband, wrapped in brown tape, was cleverly concealed in the false bottom of a check-in suitcase and in the false bottoms of four ladies' handbags transported as check-in baggage.
A total of 5 kg of cocaine, valued at around Rs 50 crore in the international grey market, was recovered.
The passenger had travelled from Laos to Hyderabad via Singapore, and was on his way to Delhi. He has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.