Pune: In a second major drug seizure at Pune airport in as many days, customs officials on Thursday recovered 3.255kg of hydroponic weed, valued at Rs 1.14 crore in the illicit market, from the luggage of a woman passenger arriving from Bangkok.The seizure comes a day after customs officials arrested a 45-year-old Pune resident for allegedly smuggling in 10.642kg of the high-end cannabis variety, worth Rs 3.72 crore.The woman, a Mumbai resident, arrived in Pune aboard an Air India Express flight (IX-291). She was intercepted following passenger profiling and suspicious findings during the scanning of her check-in baggage, a customs official said. “Following statutory procedures under the NDPS Act, officers conducted a detailed examination of her luggage. They found specially fabricated false cavities behind the inner lining on both sides of a check-in trolley bag,” the official said.Two rectangular, slab-shaped packets wrapped in three layers of vacuum-sealed black plastic were recovered from the cavities. The packets contained an orangish-green dried floral substance with a strong pungent odour. Field testing confirmed it to be marijuana/ganja (hydroponic weed), the official added.The woman was arrested and further investigation is under way. Sources said she had travelled to Bangkok four days before her arrival in Pune. “Prima facie, it appears that she was handed the bag containing the contraband by the smugglers. In some cases, passengers knowingly carry such consignments in return for money,” an official said.Customs officials said the frequency of drug-smuggling attempts at Pune airport had increased significantly in recent months, prompting them to intensify passenger profiling and baggage checks. “The repeated seizures indicate a possible rise in demand for hydroponic weed in Pune and neighbouring cities. The demand could also have increased ahead of Diwali. However, all possible angles are being investigated,” another official said.In Wednesday’s seizure, the customs air intelligence unit arrested a 45-year-old Pune resident who had allegedly attempted to smuggle 10.642kg of hydroponic weed worth Rs 3.72 crore. The contraband was concealed in packets labelled as freeze-dried Monthong durian and noodles in his check-in luggage.Earlier, on Oct 27, customs officials had seized 381.27gm of hashish, a cannabis extract, from another passenger arriving from Bangkok on the same Air India Express flight. The substance was concealed inside the passenger’s shoes. He, too, was intercepted following passenger profiling and a detailed baggage examination.
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