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Bangkok passenger held at Pune airport with 381g of suspected hashish hidden in shoe soles
Customs officials arrested a passenger arriving from Bangkok at Pune airport on October 27 after allegedly finding 381
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Customs officials arrested a passenger arriving from Bangkok at Pune airport on October 27 after allegedly finding 381.27 grams of suspected hashish concealed in specially constructed compartments in the soles of his sports shoes.
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted the Indian passenger after he landed at Lohegaon airport aboard Air India Express flight IX-291 from Bangkok, acting on specific intelligence inputs and passenger profiling.
A search of his cabin and checked-in baggage yielded no prohibited items. However, officials became suspicious after noticing that the black sports shoes he was wearing had unusually thick soles and appeared heavier than normal.
“When officials cut open the inner soles of both shoes, they allegedly found packets wrapped in black cloth and secured with red adhesive tape. The packets contained a dark brown to black, wax-like substance that tested positive for cannabis extract in preliminary field tests,” the release stated. The substance is suspected to be hashish or another cannabis-based narcotic.
The substance was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the passenger was arrested. He was produced before a judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), who remanded him to judicial custody until November 7, 2026.
As per officials, further investigation is underway to establish the source of the suspected contraband, its intended destination, and whether the passenger was linked to a wider drug-smuggling network, officials said.
The operation was conducted by Pune Customs’ AIU under principal commissioner D Anil, additional commissioner Shivkumar Salunkhe and deputy commissioner Dheeraj More.
