Ahmedabad, Sep 5 (IANS) Ahmedabad Customs officials have seized 5,519.7 grams of suspected hydroponic marijuana from a passenger arriving from Ho Chi Minh City, after the contraband was allegedly concealed inside food packaging in his hand baggage.
The seizure was made by officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), Ahmedabad Customs, following passenger profiling and X-ray screening of hand baggage.
The passenger, a Mumbai resident, had arrived in Ahmedabad on September 4 on VietJet Air flight VJ-1805 from Ho Chi Minh City.
During a detailed examination of his hand baggage, officers recovered a green-coloured substance packed in 24 packets wrapped in aluminium foil.
The packets had allegedly been concealed inside three cookie boxes and a packet of corn flakes, according to Ahmedabad Customs.
Preliminary testing of the recovered substance using an NDPS field testing kit indicated the presence of ganja (marijuana). The total weight of the seized substance was recorded at 5,519.7 grams.
Customs officials seized the contraband under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and arrested the passenger. Further investigation is underway.
The seizure comes amid a series of recent interceptions of hydroponic marijuana at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
On September 2, Ahmedabad Customs seized 6,073.7 grams of hydroponic marijuana from a passenger arriving from Ho Chi Minh City on the same VJ-1805 service.
The substance was allegedly concealed in five vacuum-packed packets inside a specially created cavity in a trolley bag. The passenger was arrested under the NDPS Act.
The following day, Customs intercepted a Vadodara-based couple arriving from Bangkok and seized 1,928 grams of hydroponic marijuana allegedly concealed in specially created cavities inside two trolley bags. Both passengers were arrested.
The latest seizure is the third reported hydroponic marijuana interception at the Ahmedabad airport in the space of four days, involving different concealment methods and international routes.
Customs authorities are continuing to investigate the source of the contraband and the circumstances surrounding its attempted entry into the country.
–IANS
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