The Mumbai police have arrested seven foreign nationals and seized over 300 kg of Muguka, a plant-based stimulant produced in Kenya, at the Mumbai airport.
This is only the second known case of seizure of Muguka in India, police said.
Muguka, also known as Khat or Meraa, is not banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, but the accused were booked under IPC sections related to possession of poisonous substances, police said.
Two years ago, 116 kilograms of the substance was seized at the Ahmedabad airport.
The value of the seized Muguka was then estimated to be Rs 3 crore. "Based on that, the value of the current seizure could be around Rs 7.5 crore. But we are verifying it," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 8) Anil Kumbhare.
The immigration officials had detained Zainul Khan, a Kenyan, after he arrived with three large suitcases filled with Muguka last night.
His interrogation led to the information that another six persons were travelling to Mumbai by a Kenyan airline, carrying with them a huge quantity of the stimulant substance.
"We laid a trap and intercepted them when their bags appeared on the conveyor belt at the airport around 4.45 am today," the DCP said.
In total, 18 large bags with over 300 kg of Muguka were seized, another official said.
Those arrested were identified as Tofiq Ali (32), Nuru Mohammed (38) and Hassan Abrahim (29), all Ethiopian citizens; Jacqueline Nyamgwange (34) and Mohd Abdi Gabow (32), both Kenyans, and Abdullahi Zakariya, a citizen of Sweden.
They were booked under section 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) of the Indian Penal Code.
Police are probing for whom the consignment was meant, the DCP said.
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