Rita Odafe
A 29-year-old Nigerian man holding Italian citizenship was apprehended at Punta Cana International Airport in the Dominican Republic during an endeavor to transport drugs to Paris, France by swallowing them.
The arrest was made by officials from the National Directorate of Drug Control (DNCD) and the Specialized Airport Security Corps (CESAC), in collaboration with the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
According to a statement released by the Directorate on August 15, 2024, the individual was intercepted in the terminal’s boarding area.
Upon suspicion, foreign objects were discovered in his gastrointestinal tract.
He was promptly taken to a local medical facility, where specialized physicians supervised the removal process of the hidden substances.
The medical team extracted a total of 72 pellets from the man’s stomach, suspected to be filled with cocaine. The confiscated material weighs around 1.361 kilograms (2.99 pounds).
The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the DNCD have initiated an inquiry to ascertain if there were additional accomplices implicated in this foiled international drug trafficking scheme.
Meanwhile, the foreign individual is being transferred to the Permanent Care jurisdiction of La Altagracia province for further legal action.
As part of the ongoing examination, the 72 packets were dispatched to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) for comprehensive assessment and verification of the substance’s composition.
