8.9 kg hydroponic weed seized at Ahmedabad airport, Mumbai man held

Customs officials carried out a major operation at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Monday. A Mumbai man arriving from Bangkok has been accused of carrying 8.913 kilograms of hydroponic ganja. According to the allegation, the man had hidden the ganja among his belongings inside his bag.

Ahmedabad Customs' Air Intelligence Unit profiled passengers arriving on Thai Airways flight TG-343 from Bangkok. During this, a male passenger was stopped on suspicion. When his checked-in baggage was searched, officials claim they found 14 airtight plastic packets containing a green substance. He is alleged to have hidden all these packets inside his clothes.

In the initial investigation, an NDPS field testing kit was used, which indicated the green substance was ganja. The total weight of the seized substance is stated to be 8,913 grams, or around 8.9 kilograms.

The ganja was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act), and the accused passenger has been arrested. Further investigation is ongoing. The action comes at a time when cases of ganja smuggling into Ahmedabad from Southeast Asia have reportedly risen significantly.

This is not the first such case. In June, customs officials had accused a 20-year-old passenger arriving from Bangkok of carrying 10.911 kilograms of hydroponic ganja. He is alleged to have hidden five packets in his trolley bag. That passenger was also arrested.

Before that, in May, a similar action was taken against another passenger, from whom customs officials seized 6.54 kilograms of ganja. Officials have noted that several of these passengers travel to Ahmedabad airport via Mumbai. This has led police to step up the pace of their investigation.