IGI Airport: Customs Seizes 7.4 Kg Hydroponic Weed, Arrests Two

Customs officers at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport have seized 7.4 kg of suspected hydroponic weed and arrested two passengers after uncovering an alleged attempt to smuggle the narcotic into the country through baggage carried on behalf of another traveller, officials said on Tuesday.

Hydroponic weed is a high-potency variety of cannabis grown in nutrient-rich water instead of soil.

The seizure was made after officers intercepted a passenger arriving from Bangkok on July 27 based on Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) profiling, an official statement said.

After the passenger crossed the Customs Green Channel, X-ray screening of his baggage revealed suspicious images, the statement said.

A detailed examination of the baggage led to the recovery of 7.4 kg of green-coloured substance suspected to be hydroponic weed (ganja/marijuana), it said.

The statement said Customs officers had simultaneously kept the profiled passenger under discreet surveillance from the flight arrival gate.

During surveillance, they noticed another passenger travelling on the same flight remaining in constant contact with him, repeatedly interacting with him near the baggage conveyor belt as well as around the X-ray screening area.

Based on the suspicious movements, both passengers were intercepted and questioned.

During sustained interrogation, the profiled passenger admitted that the baggage did not belong to him and had been entrusted to him by the other passenger travelling on the same flight, the statement said.

"This disclosure established the involvement of both passengers in the attempted smuggling," the statement said, adding that both were taken into custody for further investigation.

Both passengers were arrested under Section 43(b) of the NDPS Act, 1985, while the suspected hydroponic weed, along with the concealing material and packaging, was seized under Section 43(a) of the Act, it added.