Customs officials on Sunday arrested a passenger at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai and seized 9.5 kilograms of hydroponic weed (cannabis) worth Rs 10 crore in the illicit market. The passenger had travelled from Bangkok to Mumbai with the intention of smuggling.
The officials nabbed the passenger Kavaljit Singh, 31, who had arrived at the city airport from Bangkok via Indigo flight 6E 1052 on Sunday, based on passenger profiling.
A body search of Singh, who is originally from Amritsar, Punjab, did not find anything, but when his trolley bag was checked, the contraband was found.
To hoodwink the security personnel, Singh had allegedly concealed 20 vacuum-packed packets stuffed with leafy material concealed between other articles in the baggage, a Customs official said. The leafy material was later tested as cannabis in the field kit test.
Customs sources added that Singh was aware that he was smuggling cannabis and what could be the consequences of his illegal acts. He was working as carrier for the smuggler’s group in lieu of hefty commission.
Investigators are checking whether he has similarly travelled internationally to indulge in smuggling in the past.
The suspect passenger was arrested under relevant charges of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for carrying commercial quantity of drugs.
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The charges pressed against Singh are of serious NDPS crime and may attract a punishment of 20 years of imprisonment once proven guilty, said customs officials.
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