Chennai, Nov 3:
Customs authorities stationed at the Chennai International Airport intercepted a 28-year-old female passenger arriving from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, seizing 4.877 kilograms of high-grade hydroponic cannabis valued at an estimated Rs 1.71 crore in the illicit international market. The passenger was detained after air intelligence sleuths flagged her baggage for exhaustive scanning upon arrival.
During luggage inspection, customs officers noticed suspicious structural irregularities within parcels ostensibly declared as packaged dry fruits and consumer snacks. A thorough examination revealed multiple tightly vacuum-sealed polythene packets concealed beneath layers of commercial food packaging, containing dense, pungent, lab-cultivated hydroponic weed variants known for high psychoactive potency.
When questioned about the commercial cargo, the woman reportedly offered evasive, contradictory explanations regarding the ownership and destination of the packages, prompting enforcement officers to place her under formal arrest under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. She was subsequently produced before a judicial magistrate and remanded to judicial custody at the Central Prison in Puzhal.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the passenger was allegedly functioning as a drug mule for an organized international trafficking network, which financed her foreign flight tickets, visa processing, and lodging in exchange for transporting the narcotics consignments. Customs officials and anti-narcotics units have launched a wider investigation to identify the local receiving handlers and uncover the overseas masterminds coordinating the cross-border smuggling racket.