Chennai: Customs arrest two smuggling ganja from Thailand, seize 2 kg contraband

CHENNAI: Customs officers seized around 2 kg high-grade hydroponic ganja worth Rs 2 crore that was smuggled into the city on two separate flights from Thailand. Four persons, including two passengers and two receivers, have been arrested.

During the customs check of passengers who arrived from Thailand on Monday midnight, officers intercepted a 28-year-old passenger from Kerala after he gave inconsistent answers to their questions.

They then searched his luggage and found packets of cosmetic products that had three parcels of about 900 grams of hydroponic ganja, valued around Rs 1 crore, concealed in them.

The man, who had travelled on a tourist visa, was immediately arrested and the contraband seized.

Based on the information received during his interrogation, officers kept a watch on another incoming flight from Bangkok that landed early morning.

While screening passengers of the flight, officers identified another suspect, a 26-year-old man from Kerala. His hand baggage had six biscuit packets in which about 1 kg high-grade hydroponic ganja, also valued around Rs 1 crore, was concealed. He was arrested on the spot.

Further investigations revealed that both passengers were acting as drug carriers for an international smuggling network.

Acting on their inputs, customs officers set up a surveillance operation outside the airport and apprehended two more youths, one from Chennai and another from Kerala, who had come to receive the contraband.

All four accused were taken into custody. Customs said the group was part of a larger narcotics network, operating on a commission to transport and distribute high-value drugs. A case has been registered under the NDPS Act, and further investigation is on.