A Brazilian national has died on the way to the hospital after customs officials at Yerevan’s airport reportedly forced him to drink from a bottle of alcohol he had brought into the country.
The incident, which occurred on 8 August, was first reported on by tabloid media.
‘Instead of checking the contents of the bottle, the customs officials forced the Brazilian to drink it, after which he suddenly felt sick and died minutes later’, the news read.
Armenia’s Chair of the State Revenue Committee, Rustam Badasyan, has dismissed the claim that an Armenian customs officer forced 30-year-old Brazilian citizen Araujolima Lucas to drink the suspicious substance in his bottle as part of a test which later led to his death.
‘Just imagine a customs officer, who is our compatriot, forces a citizen to drink drugs. Just imagine that scene; a customs officer opened the citizen’s mouth?’ said Badasyan.
He also noted that a criminal proceeding has been launched by the Investigative Committee, and that if someone acted ‘unprofessionally’, they would be held accountable.
According to Badasyan, the incident was recorded by surveillance cameras, which have since been examined. He said that he had seen the videos, and told journalists that while not everything was observable, the process was mostly visible.
‘The following happened: the person probably, with a very high probability, transported drugs. Our risk system determined that he must be subject to inspection. During the inspection, the bottles were taken out and the citizen, presumably in order to dispel suspicion, decided that he could also prove in the form of drinking. Of course, it is not a normal procedure’, Badasyan said.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee has launched a murder investigation into the case and carried out a forensic examination of the substance ingested by the Brazilian national.
OC Media was unable to reach the Brazilian Embassy in Armenia for comment.
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