Chennai: Customs officials at Chennai airport have seized 4.97 kg of suspected hydroponically cultivated cannabis, valued at around Rs 5 crore in the illicit market, from an Indian passenger arriving from Bangkok, according to the Chennai Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU). The passenger was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. The seizure was also reported by the Times of India.

Source: Urban Acres (Chennai Customs AIU)

The interception took place on Monday after officials profiled the passenger. During a detailed examination of his checked-in trolley suitcase, customs personnel found 10 transparent packets containing green-coloured flowering and fruiting tops, concealed inside food packets placed in the luggage.

A preliminary examination using a narcotics field drug testing kit confirmed the presence of cannabis, officials said. The material was seized under Section 43 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and further investigation is under way. The case against the passenger is at the investigation stage; an arrest and remand are not a conviction.

The seizure is the third reported recovery of hydroponic ganja at Chennai airport within a week. On October 30, customs officials recovered 4.877 kg from an Indian woman arriving from Kuala Lumpur — 15 packets concealed inside eight food and product packets in her checked-in trolley bag — and she was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. In an earlier case on October 29, an Indian passenger returning from Bangkok was arrested with 1.478 kg of hydroponic ganja. Together, the three seizures involve more than 11 kg of the contraband, based on the quantities reported by customs officials.

Officials said smuggling syndicates frequently target young people by funding their travel, accommodation and other expenses before using them to transport and deliver contraband into India, and warned that involvement in such activities could attract stringent punishment and long-term legal consequences. Authorities are examining the alleged smuggling network behind the repeated airport recoveries, and the latest passenger remains in judicial custody while the customs investigation continues.