# Rs 24.5 crore cocaine haul at Hyderabad airport, Doha passenger held

2026-09-29T08:47:08+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 3 independent outlets

DRI officials at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport seized 4.9 kg of cocaine valued at about Rs 24.5 crore from an Indian passenger who arrived from Doha on 29 September, Times of India reports. The passenger was arrested under the NDPS Act and remanded to judicial custody, according to siasat.com. The contraband was concealed inside seven tubes of Lindt Lindor chocolates, each marked 387 grams but found unusually heavy. Officials discovered 207 oval-shaped capsules containing a white powder that tested positive for cocaine, both outlets report. Investigators are examining the passenger's travel history and phone records to trace the source and intended recipients, Times of India adds.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

Times of India leads with the seizure value and the passenger's arrest and remand, presenting the facts in straight chronology. Siasat.com leads with the passenger's origin and the concealment method, also in neutral reporting style. Both outlets use nearly identical figures and official DRI details, with no discernible slant. The coverage is uniform straight reporting. The key difference is in narrative structure: Times of India foregrounds the judicial outcome (remand), while siasat.com emphasises the concealment method. The investigation remains open, with officials tracking the source and destination of the cocaine.

Corrected 1 October 2026: headline, sources and image aligned with the story reported.

## Coverage

Coverage: 3 sources, 2 neutral, 1 sensationalist
- m9.news (sensationalist) <https://www.m9.news/social-media-viral/hyderabad-airport-rs-24-crore-cocaine-seizure/>
  Headline questions concealment method, speculative tone
- siasat.com (neutral report) <https://www.siasat.com/doha-passenger-held-at-hyderabad-airport-with-5-kg-cocaine-3550541/>
  Straight reporting on Hyderabad cocaine seizure
- timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/smuggled-cocaine-in-chocolate-tubes-24-5-crore-drug-haul-at-rgi-airport/articleshow/134601024.cms>
  Detailed chronology of seizure and remand

This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.

Tags: cocaine, DRI, Hyderabad, NDPS Act, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport
Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/rs-24-5-crore-cocaine-haul-at-hyderabad-airport-doha-passenger-held/
License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources.
Cite: https://indianopinion.org/rs-24-5-crore-cocaine-haul-at-hyderabad-airport-doha-passenger-held/#story-in-brief

How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/