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ICE detains Indian man after perfume mistaken for opium
A month-long detention and visa trouble followed a police mix-up over a perfume bottle labelled “Opium” during a routine traffic stop in Arkansas.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 04, Oct 2025
- 13:35 EDT
- 25
Kapil Raghu with his wife / GoFundMe
An Indian national living in the United States was detained for nearly a month after police in Arkansas mistook a branded perfume bottle for an illegal narcotic, a misunderstanding that has since jeopardized his immigration status.
32-year-old Kapil Raghu, who is married to an American citizen and working toward U.S. citizenship, was pulled over in Benton, Arkansas, on May 3 for a minor traffic violation.
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During the stop, officers discovered a small bottle of perfume labeled “Opium” and assumed it contained the banned drug. Despite Raghu’s insistence that it was simply a fragrance, he was arrested and later transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Body camera footage shows officers confronting Raghu. “You got a vial of opium that was in your center console,” one officer is heard saying, as Raghu is instructed to “go and take a seat.”
Subsequent testing by the Arkansas State Crime Lab confirmed that the substance was indeed perfume, not a narcotic. Despite the findings, Raghu remained in local custody for several days before immigration authorities took over the case, citing an issue with his visa status. He was then detained for nearly a month at a federal immigration facility in Louisiana before being released on bond.
His attorney has said the episode stemmed from a misunderstanding that spiraled into a bureaucratic ordeal. Though the initial drug possession charges were dropped later in May, Raghu’s work visa was revoked during the process, leaving him unable to legally work and vulnerable to deportation.
A fundraising campaign launched by his wife details how a routine traffic stop “turned into something far more devastating,” alleging racial profiling and the violation of Raghu’s rights when officers opened his sealed mail during the stop.
The family says they are now struggling to cover legal expenses and basic costs while Raghu’s case moves through the immigration system.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has not issued a comment on the case.
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