Afghan carrying over 60 heroin capsules faints on flight

When Mohammadi Hamid fell unconscious just before his Kabul to New Delhi flight was about to land at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the officials took it for a casual case of nausea often witnessed on flights, and rushed him to the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre in Vasant Kunj. To their surprise, the 19-year-old was immediately referred to the Safdarjung Hospital, where as many as seven capsules of heroin were recovered from his rectum.

The Afghan national had arrived at the IGIA from Kabul by Air India flight AI 244 on Saturday. Police have confirmed that Hamid was a carrier of drugs and as many as 60 capsules, which he had swallowed, are yet to be retrieved from his body. He is still unconscious and is admitted in the ICU of Safdarjung Hospital.

"The substance recovered from the capsules in a powder form was tested by the Narcotics Department, which confirmed it to be heroin. When we found that the man was a carrier of drugs, a case under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered against him. The accused has not been arrested yet as he is still unconscious and unfit to give a statement," DCP (IGIA) Sanjay Bhatia said.

Police said after the man regains consciousness, he will be questioned to find out where he was supposed to deliver the consignment. "We suspect a bigger syndicate. The probe will be carried out from all possible angles. The Customs Department has also been alerted and a strict watch is being maintained on suspected passengers,"the police said.