3 arriving from Bangkok smuggle hydroponic weed worth ₹16 crore

MUMBAI: Customs seized 15.9 kg of hydroponic weed worth ₹16 crore from three Kerala passengers at CSMIA, arrested under NDPS Act.

MUMBAI: The Air-Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs on Saturday nabbed three passengers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) after finding them in possession of 15.9 kg of hydroponic weed, worth ₹16 crore from the trio. The passengers were Kerala-based and were caught after they deboarded the flight. Even though the were caught in two separate instances, it was learnt during interrogation that they are all part of a smuggling group.

3 arriving from Bangkok smuggle hydroponic weed worth ₹16 crore

Mohammed Shafeeque Mandottil, 29, was arriving from Bangkok by Indigo Airlines and landed around 11.30pm. AIU officials intercepted him after suspecting he was carrying illegal substance. On searching his luggage, they found a water heater which had 70 packets containing hydroponic weed that weighed 6.94 grams. He was arrested on Monday under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and further investigation is on to know who he was going to deliver to in the city, said a Customs official.

In the second incident, the agency intercepted two passengers Faiyaz Ahmed Shah, 25, and Mohammad Asif Ateequllah Ansari, around the same time. They too were returning from Bangkok in the same flight. They carried bags on trolleys and were taken aside for checking. 4.5 kg of hydroponic weed was found in Shah’s bag, hidden away inside a yellow, empty pillow cover. Five packets of the same weight were found inside a gray-colored pillow cover in Ansari’s luggage. “Each of them was carrying 4488 grams of hydroponic weed in the pillow covers,” The Custom official said.

After testing the seized material using a kit at the airport, a positive report for hydroponic weed (cannabis) was found. The total net weight in both cases are 15.92 kg, believed to have been smuggled into India from Bangkok, said the official. The three were arrested under the NDPS act and produced before court where they were sent to judicial custody.