Officials at the Pune International Airport have seized 745 grams of hydroponic weed worth ₹75 lakh from the lavatory of a Bangkok-Pune flight. The incident took place on March 3 (Tuesday). However, no arrests have been made yet.
"Officers from the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at Pune International Airport recovered two yellow-coloured packets from the tissue cabinet of the lavatory of the aircraft of Air India Express Flight IX-241(Bangkok to Pune)," the statement read.
"The two food packets were found to contain eight vacuum-sealed packets of hydroponic weed (marijuana). The contraband was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985," it added.
Meanwhile, an investigation is underway to find out who hid the hydroponic weed in the plane and how.
Additionally, AIU officials have asked citizens to report suspicious activity related to such smuggling to the relevant authorities.
Last month, the AIU arrested a 32-year-old passenger from Bangkok after finding hydroponic weed worth ₹5.42 crore in his possession.
The officers found five toy cartons stuffed with hydroponic weed in his luggage. The drugs had been meticulously wrapped in carbon paper, allegedly to bypass airport scanning equipment. In total, around 5.5 kilograms of the banned substance were recovered.
Additional Commissioner of Customs Rahul Gawande said the department had received a tip-off earlier regarding the smuggling attempt. According to him, the team was tracking the suspect’s movements. Gawande said that strict action would continue against individuals attempting to establish narcotics networks in Pune.
