Rs 3.72 crore hydroponic ganja hidden in durian packs seized from Bangkok flyer at Pune airport

Pune Customs seized 10.642 kg of hydroponic ganja, valued at Rs 3.72 crore in the illegal market, from a passenger who landed at Pune International Airport from Bangkok. The drug was disguised as food in the passenger's checked-in baggage.

The seizure was made on the evening of Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The passenger, an Indian citizen, had flown in on Air India Express flight IX-291. Officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) and the Customs batch on duty at the airport picked the passenger out through profiling. A scan of the checked-in bag then showed items that looked suspicious, and the bag was opened for a close examination.

Inside, officers found nine rectangular silver-coloured packets carrying a retail label that read "Freeze Dried Monthong Durian". Every packet had been sealed in two vacuum-packed layers of black polythene. Officials believe this was meant to hide the contents and to suppress the strong smell of the narcotic. To make the luggage look like an ordinary food consignment, the packets had been tucked among other commercial items, including packets of noodles.

The disguise failed at the Customs check. When the packets were cut open, they held dried yellowish-green flowering tops with a pungent odour. A preliminary test with a narcotics field testing kit showed the substance to be hydroponic ganja, also known as marijuana.

The entire consignment of 10.642 kg was seized, along with the packets and all the packing material, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

The passenger was arrested under the relevant sections of the Act and produced before a judicial magistrate. The court remanded the passenger to judicial custody until November 18.

Customs officers have begun a detailed investigation. They are trying to establish which network organised the smuggling attempt, where the consignment was to be delivered, and whether other members of a drug trafficking gang were involved.

Officials said the case points to another ingenious method of concealment, in which narcotics are made to pass as packaged food so as to get past airport checks. Pune Customs said it would keep up its surveillance and continue to act against attempts to smuggle narcotics through the airport.