Delhi customs arrest smugglers after heroin stashed in shampoo bottles on Dubai flight

Almost 20kg of the drug was hidden in about 50 bottles of shampoo and hair dye

Customs officials in Delhi seized about 50 hair product bottles filled with heroin smuggled on an Emirates flight from Dubai. Delhi Customs

Two people were arrested after a bid to smuggle heroin into India from Dubai was foiled by customs officials.

Delhi Airport authorities stopped two Afghan citizens on June 4 who were carrying 19.48 kilograms of the drug disguised as shampoo and hair dye.

The passengers travelled on flight EK516 from Dubai to Delhi and were arrested under India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

The black, viscous liquid made to look like shampoo was concealed inside about 50 plastic bottles.

Officials posted a video online showing how the substance was checked in an airport trace portal machine and the drugs discovered.

The recovery is the latest in a string of successful efforts to combat the global drugs trade.

In April, drugs worth $121 million (Dh446m) were seized in the Middle East and North Africa by Interpol under Operation Lionfish.

Busts involved 41 law enforcement agencies with 287 arrests made.

Customs officials remain on high alert to thwart smugglers’ attempts to conceal illicit items.

Last month, The National revealed how authorities in Chennai, India, intercepted 2.5kg of gold granules hidden in four containers of instant orange drink Tang.

The haul was worth an estimated Dh600,000 and arrived in a postal parcel delivered on air freight.

On the same day, Chennai customs recovered bundles of gold paste worth about Dh200,000.

The package was concealed in the underwear of a passenger arriving on an Air India morning flight from Dubai.

Only 24 hours earlier, the same customs authority found 251 grams of gold with a value of about Dh60,000 hidden inside a vacuum cleaner.

A passenger had taken the appliance on a flight from Dubai in the hope of evading import duty.

Gold smugglers caught out:

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  Authorities in Chennai, India, intercepted 2.5kg of gold granules worth Dh600,000 ($163,345) hidden in four containers of Tang instant orange drink on Monday. Courtesy: Chennai Customs

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  The gold granules, pictured in foreground, were hidden in the drink powder and the canisters send by air freight from Dubai to Chennai. Courtesy: Chennai Customs

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  On Sunday, customs officials in Chennai discovered 251g of gold worth Dh60,000 hidden inside a small cordless vacuum cleaner. Courtesy: Chennai Customs

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  A passenger had brought the appliance on to a flight from Dubai. Duty should be paid on larger quantities of gold taken into India. Courtesy: Chennai Customs