Officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized 3 kg of drugs in Bengaluru, worth several crores in the international market, hidden inside a consignment of lehengas which was being exported to Australia, a senior confirmed.

Acting on an intelligence report, the team led by Amit Ghawate, Zonal Director of NCB Bengaluru, intercepted the parcel on Thursday.

The illicit drug reported to be pseudoephedrine was detected after ripping open each fold of the lehengas. The parcel was booked from Narasapuram in Andhra Pradesh, but investigators tracked the shipment and identified the consignor in Chennai on Friday. Fake addresses and documents had been used to send the parcel.

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This is the second drug consignment bound for Australia that has been seized this month. Earlier this month, a similar incident was reported when the NCB had seized a drugs consignment comprising around 4.6 kg of ephedrine in Mumbai which was sourced from Hyderabad and was headed to Australia. The contraband had been concealed inside three mattresses which were packed in a carton, according to NCB Zonal Director in Mumbai, Sameer Wankhede.