German National Arrested with Cocaine at Delhi Airport Dies in Hospital

New Delhi: A 77-year-old German national of Indian origin, Ashok Kumar, died while receiving treatment at West Delhi's Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. Kumar was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July 26 at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, following a tip-off from Interpol.

He was accused of smuggling six kilograms of cocaine hidden inside two soft toys, with the drugs concealed in 270 capsules.

After five days in police custody, Kumar was transferred to Tihar Jail. On August 14, he reported feeling unwell and was admitted to the hospital, where he died during treatment on August 27.

Delhi Police are working with the German embassy to locate Kumar's family members for postmortem and other legal procedures.

His advocate, Rohit Pratap Singh, stated that while he has been in touch with Kumar’s brother in the US, the family has been hesitant to come to India.

The brother has raised concerns about possible foul play in Kumar’s death. A postmortem is pending, awaiting consent from either the family or the embassy, which will clarify the exact cause of death.

(With PTI Inputs)