Ahmedabad, July 9 (IANS) The Ahmedabad Customs Department has seized 5.368 kg (gross) of hydroponic marijuana from a passenger who arrived from Bangkok at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA), marking the latest in a series of narcotics interceptions on the Thailand-Ahmedabad route.

According to sources, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted a male passenger after he arrived on Thai Airways flight TG-343 from Bangkok on Wednesday following passenger profiling.

A detailed examination of the passenger’s checked-in trolley bag led to the recovery of five black polythene-wrapped packets containing a suspected narcotic substance.

The substance was tested using a field test kit, which gave a positive result for hydroponic marijuana (ganja). The total gross weight of the seized contraband was 5.368 kg.

“The passenger is a resident of Ratangarh town in Rajasthan’s Churu district. The value of the seized consignment is over Rs five crore,” an official told IANS.

The contraband has been seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

The passenger has been arrested, and further investigation is underway to establish the source of the consignment and identify any wider trafficking network.

The seizure follows several similar cases at Ahmedabad airport in recent weeks involving passengers arriving from Bangkok.

On June 28, Customs officers seized 10.91 kg of hydroponic marijuana concealed in a passenger’s checked baggage after a sniffer dog alerted officials during baggage screening.

The passenger was arrested under the NDPS Act and the narcotics, estimated to be worth around Rs 11 crore in the illicit market, were confiscated.

Just days later, on July 1, AIU officers arrested another passenger arriving from Bangkok after recovering 4.276 kg of hydroponic marijuana concealed inside food packets in checked baggage.

Customs said the interception was also based on passenger profiling and that the seized contraband was confiscated under the NDPS Act.

The repeated seizures have drawn attention to the Bangkok-Ahmedabad route, with Customs authorities continuing to intensify surveillance and profiling of international passengers to curb attempts to smuggle high-potency hydroponic cannabis into India.

–IANS

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