Customs Commission seizes 773mln birr worth cocaine at Bole Int’l Airport

Addis Ababa, September 28, 2022 (FBC) – The Ethiopian Customs Commission seized cocaine weighing 97 KG, worth more than 773 million birr, at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

A passenger who departed from Nairobi, Kenya and arrived in Addis Ababa was arrested by the Customs Commission Airport Branch, as she tried to smuggle 97.48 kilograms of cocaine within two suitcases.

The Commission confirmed that the suspect was arrested trying to pass two bags weighing 48.62 and 48.86 kilograms each, through the low risk level (Green Line), where transit passengers and passengers carrying duty-free and non-taxable goods exit.

She tried to hide the items in her luggage by wrapping them in aluminum foil, as if they were books, to avoid x-ray probation, but further inspection confirmed that the luggage was packed with cocaine.

If the drug escaped through the inspection checkpoint and delivered to terrorists, it would cause huge social and economic crisis and potentially threatens the well-being of citizens, stated the Customs Commission.