2 held at CSMIA for smuggling cannabis worth ₹4.41 cr

The Customs department arrested two persons in a drug- smuggling case at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in the early hours of Saturday

MUMBAI: The Air-Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs department arrested two persons in a drug- smuggling case at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in the early hours of Saturday and allegedly recovered 4.41 kilograms of hydroponic weed (cannabis) worth ₹4.41 crore from one of them.

The carrier of the weed was nabbed soon after he arrived at the airport from Bangkok. Representative Image, REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo (REUTERS)

The carrier of the weed was nabbed soon after he arrived at the airport from Bangkok while the other was arrested when he came to receive the contraband at the T2 terminal. According to a department officer, they intercepted a passenger, identified as Muhammed Hasarudheen Nalukudi Paramb, who had arrived from Bangkok by a Nok Air Airlines flight on Saturday, suspecting that he was carrying some contraband items. During a body search, nothing suspicious was found on him. However, when officers searched his trolley bag, they found 10 double-layered transparent plastic packets containing hydroponic weed. The packets were concealed cleverly among the clothes and other personal items.

Subsequent tests confirmed the recovered material was indeed cannabis. Paramb is a native of Kozhikode in Kerala. His interrogation revealed that a certain Ahammed Riyas K P, would be coming to receive the contraband. The custom officers laid a trap and nabbed Riyas, too. Riyas is a native of Kasargod, Kerala. “Both the suspects were arrested under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and produced in court, which sent them to judicial custody,” said defence lawyer Prabhakar Tripathi.