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Hydroponic weed worth Rs 74.5 lakh found in aircraft lavatory at Pune airport
“Two yellow coloured food packets were found in the tissue cabinet of the lavatory. These two food packets were found to be containing ‘eight vacuum sealed packets of hydroponic weed’,” the statement said.
The contraband was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. (Representational Image. Reuters)
The Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs Department at Pune International Airport recovered 745 grams of hydroponic weed, estimated to be worth Rs 74.5 lakh, from the lavatory of an Air India Express flight from Bangkok to Pune on Tuesday.
According to a press statement issued by the Customs Department, the contraband was found during a search of the aircraft. “Two yellow coloured food packets were found in the tissue cabinet of the lavatory. These two food packets were found to be containing ‘eight vacuum sealed packets of hydroponic weed’,” the statement said.
The contraband was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. No arrest has been made in the case so far. Customs officials said further investigation is underway to identify the person who placed the banned substance in the aircraft.
Last month, the Customs Department arrested a passenger at Pune International Airport for allegedly possessing 5.429 kilograms of “hydroponic weed” (cannabis plants), valued at Rs 5.42 crore in the illicit market.
Officers from the Air Intelligence Unit, Pune Customs, had intercepted a passenger arriving from Bangkok by an Air India Express flight on February 11 and recovered the contraband stored in transparent packets inside five toy boxes in his luggage bag, a press release had stated.
Investigators said hydroponic weed, also called ‘OG Kush’, is marijuana grown using hydroponic techniques. Last year in July, Customs officials had also nabbed a passenger at Pune International Airport for allegedly possessing 10.47 kilograms of hydroponic weed, worth Rs 10.5 crore. The accused had landed at Pune International Airport from Bangkok on an Indigo flight.
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