Bangladeshi arrests Malawian woman Nomthandazo Towera Soko over 8.5 kg cocaine

……This is the country’s biggest ever seizure of solid cocaine, worth an estimated Tk 1 billion, authorities say

DHAKA-(MaraviPost)-The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) has apprehended a Malawian woman with around 8.5 kilograms of cocaine, the largest seizure of solid cocaine by Bangladeshi authorities.

Authroties detained 35-year-old Nomthandazo Towera Soko with the drugs, valued at around Tk 1 billion, at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday.

According to bdnews24.com, Soko was planning to check into a residential hotel in Dhaka but was arrested before she could leave the airport, according to Tanveer Mumtaz, director of operations and intelligence at the DNC.

The DNC had initiated an operation two days ago based on a tip-off about a cocaine shipment arriving in Bangladesh.

The focus was on foreign passengers arriving from Africa on Qatar Airways flights.

Soko drew suspicion due to the weight of her luggage. Upon inspection, authorities found 1 kg of cocaine in a folder she was carrying and subsequently discovered another 8 kilograms of the drug wrapped in carbon paper hidden inside her luggage.

Soko has visited Bangladesh on several occasions as a shoe and garment trader, and came to the country this year under the same pretext.

Further investigations revealed the involvement of several local individuals and another foreign national in the smuggling operation.

Malawi authorities are yet to comment on matter as we went to press.

Source: bdnews24.com

Lloyd M’bwana

I’m a Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resource (LUANAR)’s Environmental Science graduate (Malawi) and UK’s ICM Journalism and Media studies scholar. Also University of Malawi (UNIMA) Library Science Scholar. I have been The Malawi Country Manager and duty editor for the Maravi Post since 2019. My duty editor’s job is to ensure that the news is covered properly, that it is delivered on time, and that it is created to the standards set out in the editorial guidelines of the Maravi Post.