Three drug mules coming from Bangkok, Pune handler held by Customs, Hydro weed of Rs 13 crores seized

Officials said the handler was waiting for the three suspected drug mules outside the Pune Airport. Two of the total four suspects are women, officials said. The details of the action conducted on September 1 were shared with the media on Saturday after completion of the investigation.

Multiple seizures of hydropic marijuana have been seized from Pune in the recent past. Earlier in April this year, Pune City Police had arrested a 26-year-old BBA graduate in sales and marketing and seized hydroponic weed from him. Police had seized over 30 grams of marijuana which is valued at Rs three lakh in the illegal market. Police had recovered from him marijuana of a strain called OG Kush which was grown using hydroponics technique.

In May, the Pune unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had intercepted drugs that were allegedly being smuggled by two passengers who arrived at Pune Airport from Bangkok. The DRI sleuths had seized hydroponic marijuana and hashish worth Rs 10.3 crore in the immediate seizure from accused passengers and from follow up searches conducted in Mumbai. In the first week of August, over six kilograms of hydroponic weed was seized from a passenger who arrived from Bangkok.

Official multiple seizures of highly potent marijuana grown using hydroponic technique have been reported from India.

In many of these cases the drugs were smuggled from abroad. Investigators believe that these strains value multifolds more than the regular weed primarily because of reasons tied to its growing method, potency, and perceived quality. Multiple seizures of this strain have been reported from passengers arriving from Bangkok to Pune and also at other international airports in India as well. Passengers who are intercepted are primarily drug mules, officials have said.

Investigators believe that controlled indoor cultivation might be resulting in high potency of the drugs and higher levels of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC which leads to stronger psychoactive effects. Officers also believe that higher production cost and perceived notion that this product would be cleaner would also be resulting in such a high price. Officials said that sometimes weed grown by other methods can be touted as a hydroponic strain to get high value.”Irrespective of how it is produced or perceived, marijuana—like all other drugs—poses serious health risks, including potential damage to mental and physical health and carries a high risk of addiction,” an officer said.