Mother-daughter duo from overseas held with Rs 25 cr heroin at Mumbai airport

Two foreign women, a mother-daughter duo, were arrested by customs officials with nearly 5 kg of heroin worth Rs 25 crore at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here, an official said on Wednesday.

The contraband was concealed in the cavities of the trolley bags carried by the mother-daughter duo, who had traveled to the city on Sunday from Johannesburg via Doha in a Qatar Airlines flight, the official said.

Their nationality was not disclosed.

The women were caught with 4.95 kg of heroin worth Rs 25 crore, he said, adding the accused had arrived in India on the pretext of seeking treatment for lung cancer.

A probe revealed the duo was supposed to deliver the consignment at a hotel room and was going to get a huge amount of money for carrying and delivering the contraband, the official said.

The customs department has started a search for the person who was supposed to receive the drug consignment, he said.

The duo, arrested under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, was produced in a court which remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days, the official added.