Man seeks to restore US status after ICE officers mistake opium perfume for drugs
Indian national Kapil Raghu spent a month in an immigration facility after authorities confused a bottle of Opium perfume with drugs.
The charges against Raghu were dropped, though he was detained for a month after initially being pulled over for a traffic violation on May 3, 2025, according to his attorney Mike Laux. While searching his car, authorities discovered the perfume bottle labelled “Opium” and arrested him for possession of narcotics.
Local network THV11 recovered bodycam footage of the officers, showing Raghu explaining that the bottle was only a popular fragrance.
“You got a vial of opium that was in your center console,” an officer told Raghu. “Go and take a seat.”
Raghu, who lives in Arkansas with his American wife, was working toward gaining American citizenship at the time of his arrest.
The Arkansas State Crime Lab confirmed the contents of the bottle were perfume, not drugs but Raghu still spent three days in the Saline County jail, where authorities found an “administrative/legal error” showing his visa status had expired, according to his attorney. After the three days in jail, ICE officials transported Raghu to an immigration facility in Louisiana for a month.
The long term impact
“She used to call me every night,” Raghu told THV11. “Crying, and my stepdaughter putting a Bible on her chest, crying. My stepdaughter was crying a lot. And she [Mays] was planning to sell her cars and move to some other country where we can live happily.”The drug charges against Ragu were officially dropped on May 20, but the ICE detainment has resulted in difficulties in his citizenship journey and the family is now seeking to fundraise to help cover their legal and basic expenses.
“It is my understanding that, though released, Kapil now has a ‘deportation’ status, meaning he can be immediately deported for any minor offense, even jaywalking,” Laux shared in a statement. “But, more crucially, this classification bars him from working and earning money for his family, which has been devastating for them.”
Raghu has now written to the ICE legal office, and explained his case and formally asked whether his immigration status could be resolved.
Raghu said that his immigration attorney had “failed to timely file the required paperwork before my visa expired, which left me vulnerable and placed me in my current situation”.
“My wife, who has always been my greatest support, is carrying the entire financial burden alone, as I am currently unable to work,” Raghu wrote. “The mounting legal fees and the pressure of not being able to contribute have created a difficult situation for our family, and it has become increasingly challenging to manage.”
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