Largest shipment of cocaine in country's history seized in Dhaka airport

The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) seized 8.3 kilograms of cocaine, the largest such consignment seized in the country's history, from the capital's Shahjalal International Airport on Wednesday night.

The contraband was being carried by a Malawian woman, Nomthendajo Tawera Soko, 35, who entered Bangladesh from the African country of Ethiopia, said Director (Operations) of DNC Tanvir Momtaz at a press briefing today (25 January).

Bangladesh was being used as a transit route for the contraband, which has no demand in the country, he said at the briefing at the DNC's Tejgaon office.

Soko was arrested from the airport and the cocaine shipment, worth millions, was recovered from her luggage.

Momtaz said the DNC had earlier received information that the consignment of cocaine would arrive in Dhaka via an African national on a Qatar Airways flight.

Bangladesh was to be used as a transit point for domestic and foreign members of an international cocaine smuggling syndicate.

"Since then, we have increased surveillance at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Based on this news, on Wednesday (24 January), a team of APBN and DNC stayed at the boarding bridge area of Terminal 8 of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. We followed all foreign passengers who disembarked from flights."

Among the passengers, they noticed Soko lingering at the visa-on-arrival desk on the ground floor of the airport.

After showing some suspicious behaviour, she was stopped and interrogated. During the interrogation, she admitted that she was carrying cocaine.

Momtaz said Soko first went to Ethiopia from Malawi. Later, she moved from Ethiopia to Doha.

She then arrived in Bangladesh on a Qatar Airlines flight from Doha.

She was scheduled to leave for Malawi on 4 February.

"We believe Tawera Soko collected this shipment of cocaine from either Malawi or Ethiopia," he said.

During the interrogation, Soko said she came to Bangladesh once in 2023 on some garments-related business.

She was carrying an invitation letter from a garments company this time around as well.

Soko is a nurse by profession.

When asked to whom Soko used to hand over cocaine in Bangladesh, Momtaz said, "We are investigating the matter."

The DNC suspects that the drug would be handed over to other foreigners in Bangladesh for further distribution.

When asked whether anyone from Bangladesh is involved, he said that domestic and foreign syndicates were involved in the shipment of cocaine. "We are trying to identify the racket."

The estimated market value of the cocaine was over Tk100 crore.

This is the biggest shipment of solid cocaine in the history of the country, DNC officials said.

Cocaine busts have grown in the country over the years. 

In 2015, Bangladesh anti-drugs officers seized three kilograms of cocaine from the Dhaka airport and arrested a Spanish national on suspicion of smuggling.

In 2017, 750 grams were seized from a FedEx parcel at the airport which came from Uganda's Kampala via Dubai. 

In 2020, the Rapid Action Battalion busted a gang of drug dealers who had 2kgs of the narcotic in their possession. 

In June last year, an Indian national was arrested from the Dhaka airport with 1,800 grams in her possession.