Mumbai, April 21: A 22-year-old man has been arrested by Airport Customs officials for allegedly smuggling drugs worth around Rs 5.84 crore sourced from Bangkok.
Accused identified
The arrested person has been identified as H.M. Rijhwani, a resident of Ulhasnagar.
Interception at airport
According to Customs sources, on the basis of suspicion and passenger profiling, one person, H.M. Rijhwani, who had arrived at CSMI Airport, Mumbai from Bangkok by Thai Airways flight on Monday night, was intercepted in the arrival hall at the airport.
The officer examined his trolley bag, which was found to be containing clothes and food packets. Upon removing the clothes, six plastic packets were found inside. Upon cutting the said packets, there was a strong unpleasant odour emanating from the green-coloured dry leafy substance in lump form present inside it, officials said.
Drugs seized
"The said substance tested positive for the presence of a narcotic drug purported to be Hydroponic Weed, a substance covered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The net weight of the green-coloured dry leafy substance in lump form was 5,849 grams valued at around Rs 5.84 crore.
Investigation underway
During his statement, Rijhwani admitted non-declaration, concealment, recovery and seizure of the narcotic substance that is fruiting and flowering top of a plant purported to be Hydroponic Weed.
"The investigations in the case are at a very preliminary stage and efforts are also being made to identify and apprehend key associates of the accused. We are probing who supplied drugs to Rijhwani in Bangkok and who was supposed to receive the same in Mumbai," said a Customs official.
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Judicial custody
Advocates Ashish Singh, Birendra Yadav and Arun Gupta argued for the accused in the court, after which Rijhwani was remanded to judicial custody.
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