Mumbai man allegedly honey-trapped, forced to smuggle cocaine worth £2.8m from Ethiopia

A man from Mumbai in India found himself honey-trapped by a woman and was forced to smuggle cocaine worth Rs 28.10 crore (£2.8 million) from the African country of Ethiopia to India.

According to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), the matter came to light after the man was held with 2.81 kilograms of cocaine by the customs officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on his arrival from Ethiopia.

A customs official told IANS on the condition of anonymity that the man, 49, had met a woman on social media. They became friends soon and the woman lured him to go to Ethiopia.

The man even left his private job in Mumbai to go to Ethiopia to meet her.

But when he tried to contact her, she told him that she was in Mumbai, the IANS report added. Some men there then forced him to carry a bag containing cocaine, a source said.

"He was sent back to Mumbai with the cocaine consignment. The accused concealed cocaine in a duffle bag. It was intercepted by the customs officials on the basis of intelligence surveillance," the official said.

He added that during investigation, the man broke down and told the officials that a woman forced him to do all this. He said he was being blackmailed.

"The man has violated provisions of section 8 of the NDPS Act, and has committed an offence punishable under Section 21, Section 23 and Section 29 of NDPS Act. Accordingly, he was placed under arrest. The said the drugs, which is cocaine, has been seized along with concealing material under section 43(a) of NDPS Act, " said the official.

The official said that they have informed the local police about the honey-trap matter to investigate.