AIU seizes Rs 50 crore hydroponic weed, exotic wildlife and foreign currency at Mumbai airport; 7 arrested in 6 ops over 3 days

Based on the specific intelligence, three AIU teams were made separately to carry out an operation when they learnt that three passengers in the same flight coming from Bangkok were carrying narcotics substances. The first team nabbed the person as soon as he arrived out of the flight number 6E 1060 and was collecting his bag at CSMIA. During the examination of his baggage, the agency recovered 18.025 kilograms of suspected hydroponic weed (Marijuana) from him. The accused was concealing narcotic substances inside the trolley bag. The value of the substance was worth Rs 1,825 crore in the international market.

The second team simultaneously noticed another passenger who was seen suspicious and came from Bangkok by same flight number 6E 1060. He was intercepted and while checking his baggage, the agency allegedly recovered 17.975 kilograms of hydroponic weed (Marijuana) worth Rs 17.975 crores. This accused also carried the narcotics in a trolley bag.

While the third team also intercepted the passenger who was in the same flight coming from Bangkok and agency found 6.049 kg of suspected hydroponic weed (Marijuana) from his trolley bag. The narcotics were worth Rs. ₹6.049 crores. The separate cases were registered against all four passengers intercepted in the narcotics seizure and were arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

In the fifth operation, the agency claims that they managed to nab a person coming from Bangkok via flight number- VZ-760 to Mumbai and found that he was carrying wildlife animals. The agency claims that they recovered two Meerkat, two Hyrax, four Sugar Glider and four Large Fig Eyed Parrot, 10 Green Basilisk Lizard, 20 Leopard Tortoise which he was carrying in a trolley bag. Apart from that the agency also recovered four albino red eared slider, one common blue tongued skink, 12 bearded dragon, one dumeril’s monitor lizard and two quince monitor lizard and five water monitor lizard and these wildlife were concealed inside the trolley bag carried by the passenger.

The accused were arrested under the provisions of Customs Act, 1962 read with Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

In the sixth operation, the AIU team intercepted three passengers who were going to Jeddah from Mumbai by flight number SV-771. They were found suspicious and while checking the agency recovered foreign currency equivalent to Indian Rs 15.96 Lakh.