Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 6 : Customs officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (CCSI), Amausi, Lucknow, have arrested a person and booked a case of smuggling of a narcotic substance suspected to be ganja/hydroponic marijuana.
According to the airport's Assistant Commissioner of Customs, the passenger, an Indian national, arrived on a flight from Bangkok via Muscat. The passenger was diverted to the Green Channel for X-ray screening and baggage inspection by AIU officers.
During the examination of the passenger's trolley bag, customs officials recovered 13 polythene packets wrapped within additional polythene covers, containing a green-coloured substance suspected to be ganja/hydroponic marijuana. The net weight of the seizure was 10.397 kg, with an estimated market value of approximately Rs 10.39 crore.
Preliminary diagnostic tests confirmed the substance to be ganja/hydroponic marijuana. The passenger has been arrested under Sections 42 and 43 of the NDPS Act, 1985, and the seized material has been taken into custody under Section 43 of the NDPS Act.
Authorities stated that the passenger is suspected of violating Section 8 of the NDPS Act, 1985, and the offence is punishable under Sections 20 and 23 of the Act.
Further investigation into the case is ongoing.
In a separate case, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, on May 16, seized 2.659 kg of cocaine worth approximately Rs 13.295 crore in two separate operations at Mumbai Airport and arrested two persons under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
According to officials, acting on specific intelligence, DRI seized 1.575 kg of Liquid cocaine valued at approximately ₹7.875 crore in the illicit market from one female passenger arriving from Addis Ababa. During the examination of the baggage, 8 pouches containing Liquid Cocaine were recovered.
In another operation, an African male passenger was intercepted upon his arrival at the Airport, Mumbai. He was found to have ingested capsules containing Cocaine. The pax purged a total of 70 capsules, amounting to 1.084 kg of cocaine worth ₹5.42 crore in the illicit market, which was recovered.