Brazilian native with cocaine capsules in stomach held in city

KOLKATA: Officials of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Kolkata have seized 497 grams of cocaine from a Brazilian national, who had come to the city on August 12 with 44 capsules inside his stomach. The capsules had contraband concealed inside them.

According to the NCB officials, on the basis of a source input, officials detained a Brazilian national, identified as Paulo Cesar Pinheiro Bastos, on August 12. He had arrived from Brazil in via Dubai. While interrogating Bastos, he complained of pain in his abdomen. After he was rushed to a private hospital in Haldirams area, an abdominal x-ray revealed that multiple capsules were present inside his body.

Though the doctors tried to extract the capsules through stool by using several medicines, they failed as the suspect was experiencing repeated withdrawal symptoms and was getting agitated. Later, doctors decided to treat him for his addiction first. On August 15, after informing the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Barasat, NCB was asked to shift the suspect to SSKM hospital.

Since then, doctors had been treating him and also ensured that the capsules were extracted. After extraction was completed on Thursday, again several examinations of his body were done to ensure no other foreign particle is present. On Friday he was discharged.

Later, the accused was produced at the CJM court in Barasat and has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. NCB officials informed that the cost of cocaine varies between Rs 10000 to Rs 60000 per gram, depending on the purity of the contraband.