Columbia national Freedy Trujillo Renteria was held on Saturday. A Colombian national was arrested with cocaine worth Rs36 crore by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officers from a South Mumbai hotel on Saturday. Freedy Trujillo Renteria, 32, stuffed the contraband in 12 packets and hid them inside two laptop bags. He had come to the Mumbai from Panama via Addis Ababa.
Renteria’s arrest comes just three days after a Bolivian national, Melger Claudia, 38, was arrested with cocaine worth Rs21 crore at the international airport. She too had arrived from Addis Ababa. The NCB suspects two work as carriers for the same handler. Renteria is a trainee commercial pilot.
“Renteria was paid handsomely for the job. His tickets and accommodation were arranged by the handlers,” Kumar Sanjay Jha, NCB zonal director for Mumbai and Goa region, who headed the operation, said.
Both the carriers were unaware of the person who was supposed to collect their consignments and were waiting for further instructions.
“The carriers were kept in different hotels and worked discreetly. They never booked pre-paid cabs and the hotels were booked online by their handlers,” said Jha.
Investigations revealed that Renteria had visited the country three times in the past and the agency is probing whether he smuggled drugs during his previous visits. The NCB is using a translator to communicate with Renteria, as he speaks only Spanish. Probe is on to trace involvement of local drug dealers as well. He was booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
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