Chennai, Oct 31:
Customs officials seized 1.478 kg of hydroponic cannabis worth Rs 51.7 lakh from a passenger who arrived at Chennai International Airport from Bangkok, Thailand, and arrested him.
Acting on intelligence inputs that narcotics were being smuggled into Chennai from abroad, officials of the Air Intelligence Unit of Chennai Customs intensified surveillance at the airport. They monitored passengers arriving on a flight from Bangkok and subjected suspicious travellers to checks.
During the operation, a man aged around 30 allegedly attempted to leave the airport without reporting to the customs inspection area. Customs officials intercepted him and searched his suitcase.
A check revealed 10 airtight packets containing processed, high-grade hydroponic cannabis. The officials seized a total of 1.478 kg of the contraband, estimated to be worth Rs 51.7 lakh.
The passenger was arrested, and further investigations are under way to determine whether he was acting as a carrier for an international drug trafficking network.
Customs officials are also investigating who had arranged the shipment, to whom the drugs were to be delivered in Chennai, and who had sent the accused to Thailand to procure the contraband.