NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Benton, AK, October 5, 2025: An Indian national living in the United States was detained for nearly a month after police in Arkansas mistook a bottle of perfume for an illegal drug. The incident, confirmed by The Guardian, has drawn attention to procedural errors that can have serious consequences for immigrants.
According to The Guardian, Kapil Raghu, an Indian citizen married to a U.S. national and working toward American citizenship, was stopped by police in Benton, Arkansas, on May 3 for a minor traffic violation. During the stop, officers discovered a small perfume bottle labeled “Opium”, a popular fragrance by Yves Saint Laurent, and assumed it contained the banned narcotic.
Despite Raghu’s explanation that it was only a fragrance, he was arrested on suspicion of drug possession. Subsequent testing by the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory confirmed that the bottle contained perfume and not an illegal substance.
Although the drug charge was dropped on May 20, Raghu remained in custody for several days after his arrest. While in local detention, officials identified what they called an “administrative issue” with his visa. He was transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and detained at a federal facility in Louisiana for nearly 30 days.
According to the report, Raghu’s visa was revoked during his detention, leaving him in a precarious immigration situation. His attorney has since contacted ICE seeking reinstatement of his visa status.
Raghu’s case highlights how administrative and procedural missteps can escalate into prolonged detention for non-citizens. As of this week, ICE and Benton Police have not issued public statements on the case.
On May 3, 2025, a routine traffic stop in Benton, Arkansas, turned absurd when police arrested a man after mistaking his vial of YSL “Opium” perfume for actual opium- a blunder captured on video that led to his wrongful detention. pic.twitter.com/Y8At1q99L3
— X Case Files (@XCaseFiles) August 22, 2025
Cover photo credit: @XCaseFiles/X.
