Customs seizes hydroponic weed, gold worth Rs. 45.4 crore at Mumbai airport

Over the last one week, the customs department seized hydroponic weed worth Rs 43 crore and gold and diamond worth Rs 2.40 crore at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai. The agency arrested several people allegedly involved in the drug and gold smuggling racket.

According to customs official, based on spot profiling, the agency intercepted a total of nine people in seven incidents travelling from Bangkok to Mumbai via various flights in the last one week. During searches, the customs officials found that the accused were hiding narcotics in their baggage. The contraband seized was 37.26 kg and valued at approximately Rs. 37.26 crore in the illicit market. They were arrested under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

A customs official said to avoid the agency’s radar, the modus operandi of the smugglers was to conceal the contraband inside lumps of tamarind in their trolley bags.

Three other passengers were intercepted based on specific intelligence on Monday and Tuesday and a total of 6kg of hydroponic weed worth Rs. 6 crores was seized from them. The accused had arrived from Bangkok via various flights. The agency also nabbed five passengers, who were carrying gold and diamond worth Rs. 2.4 crore.