Chennai, Sep 15:
Officials of the Chennai Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) have seized 2.7 kg of hydroponic ganja (Marijuana) valued at Rs.97 lakhs in the illicit market, from a passenger who arrived from Dubai and arrested him at the Anna International airport here on Saturday.
Official sources said based on passenger profiling, AIU officers intercepted an Indian male passenger, who arrived from Dubai when attempted to exit through the Green Channel without making any declaration to the customs.
Upon detailed examination of his checked-in baggage, four transparent airtight packets containing dried greenish-brown flowering and fruiting tops of a plant, suspected to be hydroponically cultivated Cannabis (Ganja), were recovered. The packets had been ingeniously concealed inside the baby diaper bag, detergent powder packet and chessboard box kept in the checked-in baggage.
The recovered contraband weighed 2,794 grams (net weight) and tested positive for Ganja/Marijuana using the Narcotic Drug Detection kit. The contraband was seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The seized drug was worth approximately Rs.97 lakhs in the illicit market.
The passenger has been arrested under the provisions of the NDPS Act and remanded in judicial custody.
Further investigation is in progress.
The Chennai Customs advises the public, particularly the youth, to remain vigilant against offers of sponsored foreign travel and easy money for carrying unknown baggage on their return journey.
An analysis of recent cases revealed that smuggling syndicates frequently target young individuals by funding their travel, accommodation, and other expenses, and subsequently use them to carry and deliver contraband into India. Involvement in such activities can ruin lives, as these are serious offences under the law that invite strict punishment and long-term legal consequences, it said.