Bentonville, Arkansas, USA: An Indian citizen living in the United States was held for almost a month after local police in Arkansas mistakenly identified a perfume bottle as an illegal substance. The incident, reported by The Guardian, has raised concerns over procedural errors that can significantly affect immigrants.

According to The Guardian, Kapil Raghu, an Indian national married to an American and pursuing U.S. citizenship, was stopped in Benton, Arkansas, on May 3 for a minor traffic violation. During the stop, officers discovered a small bottle labelled “Opium,” a popular fragrance by Yves Saint Laurent, and incorrectly assumed it contained an illegal substance.

Although Raghu explained that it was only a perfume, he was taken into custody on suspicion of possession of controlled substances. Tests conducted by the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory later confirmed that the bottle contained perfume, not any prohibited material.

Even after the charges were dropped on May 20, Raghu remained in detention for several days. While in local custody, authorities discovered an administrative issue with his visa, resulting in his transfer to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was then held at a federal facility in Louisiana for nearly 30 days.

The report highlights that during his detention, Raghu’s visa was revoked, leaving him in a precarious immigration situation. His lawyer has since contacted ICE to have his visa status reinstated.

Raghu’s experience emphasises how administrative mistakes and misjudgments can lead to prolonged detention for immigrants. So far, neither ICE nor the Benton Police Department has issued an official statement regarding 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