Mumbai Customs officials today seized more than 14 kilograms of suspected Hydroponic Weed, valued at approximately ₹14.73 crores, at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMI), Mumbai. The seizure was made after officers intercepted a passenger arriving from Bangkok.
During examination of the passenger’s baggage, the contraband was found concealed inside envelopes marked with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) insignia and sealed with fake MEA security tape.
The passenger had falsely declared the consignment as Confidential Diplomatic Cargo linked to national security in an attempt to evade scrutiny. The bag also contained copies of various forged United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports and fabricated Top Secret Mission Reports, all packed inside a trolley bag carried by the passenger.
In the first case, Customs officers intercepted three passengers who had arrived from Bangkok on flight VZ760. Upon checking their baggage, authorities found 1.990 kg of suspected hydroponic weed, concealed in vacuum-sealed black and transparent plastic packets hidden inside their trolley bags. The seized narcotics are estimated to be worth around Rs 2 crore in the illicit market.
The three passengers were arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
In a separate operation based on passenger profiling, Customs officials intercepted another passenger arriving from Bangkok on flight number 6E1060. During the examination of the baggage, the Customs officers recovered 6.022 kg of suspected hydroponic weed, worth an estimated Rs 6 crore in the illicit market. The narcotic substances were cleverly concealed inside the checked-in trolley bag carried by the passenger, according to the news agency ANI.
The individual was also arrested under the NDPS Act, 1985, the press release stated.
