Tiruchi: Officials of the air customs at Tiruchi airport on Sunday seized 11.4 kilograms of ketamine hydrochloride from a 63-year-old Malaysian national trying to smuggle out the drug to Kuala Lumpur. "The seized ketamine is worth about Rs 45 lakh in the international market while it is valued at about Rs 4 lakh in the Indian black market," said D Shivasankaran, additional commissioner of customs, Tiruchi. It is said to be the largest haul of its kind in the airport after 8.5 kg ketamine was seized from a foreigner in 2008.
The officials searched the baggage of Devalajar Devadanam of Malaysian as he was about to board a Kuala Lumpur bound Air Asia flight and found the ketamine in 11 air-tight parcels. "They were kept in a travel bag tucked inside a suitcase. While interrogating, the man said a stranger met him before entering the airport and handed over the baggage on instructions that a person would collect it from him at Kuala Lumpur airport. He was promised Rs 4000 on delivery," said Shivasankaran, adding that a preliminary investigation revealed that Devadanam was just a carrier, and not connected with any drug mafia. Devadanam had entered the country through Chennai airport on April 27, allegedly on a pilgrimage to temples in the south.
02/05/11 Times of India
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