Hydroponic weed worth Rs 48 crore seized at Mumbai airport; eight held

Mumbai, Dec 23 (PTI) Mumbai Customs has seized more than 48 kg of hydroponic weed worth Rs 48 crore from eight passengers at the international airport here, an official said on Tuesday.

The seizures were made during an operation conducted by a team from the Customs Airport Commissionerate conducted the operation between December 18 and 22 at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), he said.

Based on profiling and intelligence inputs, officers detained passengers arriving from Bangkok (Thailand) and Muscat (Oman) and found the contraband concealed in shampoo bottles and tin snack boxes in separate seizures, the official said.

He said that a total of 35.045 kg of suspected hydroponic weed, worth Rs 35 crore, was found on five passengers travelling from Bangkok.

In another case, 81 gm of amphetamines worth Rs 16.2 lakh were recovered from a passenger, who arrived from Muscat on December 18, and 13.003 kg of hydroponic weed, worth Rs 13 crore, were recovered from two Bangkok-returned passengers in two separate cases, the official said, adding that all the accused were arrested.

During the operation, the customs team also seized 283 gm of diamond jewellery worth Rs 35.18 lakh and 6.6 kg of polished semi-precious stones worth Rs 24.91 lakh.

Foreign currency worth Rs 45.26 lakh was recovered from passengers travelling to Fujairah on December 22, the official said. PTI DC ARU