14-05-2025
Passengers held with drugs at Pune airport on arrival from Bangkok; Rs 10.3-crore worth hydroponic marijuana, hashish seized
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has intercepted two passengers who arrived at the Pune International Airport from Bangkok for allegedly possessing drugs. The DRI sleuths of the Pune unit seized hydroponic marijuana and hashish worth Rs 10.3 crore from the accused passengers on Monday and arrested another suspected distributor from Mumbai, in a simultaneous follow-up.
All three accused are Indian nationals from Mumbai, a DRI officer said.
'On examination of their checked-in baggage, officers recovered 11 airtight pouches containing over 9.8 kilograms of greenish lumpy substance purported to be hydroponic marijuana. The substance tested positive in a field test kit,' the officer said.
Around 500g of hashish and hydroponic weed were seized from the distributor's possession, he added.
'All three persons were arrested under the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985,' the officer said.
Officials said that based on specific intelligence, officers of the DRI Pune, Mumbai Zonal unit intercepted the two air passengers on their arrival at the airport.
This is not the first case of hydroponic marijuana seizure from Pune. In April, Pune City Police arrested a 26-year-old BBA graduate and seized a high-value strain of marijuana grown using the hydroponics technique. The police have seized over 30 grams of marijuana, which is valued at Rs 3 lakh in the illegal market. Police had recovered from him marijuana of a strain called 'OG Kush', which has been grown using the hydroponics technique.
In December last year, the Anti-Narcotics cell of the Pune city police arrested three college graduates from Narhe and recovered stamps of psychedelic drug Lysergic Acid (LSD), mephedrone, and a high-quality strain of ganja grown using hydroponics, collectively totalling over Rs 17 lakh.
In a major narcotics bust in August 2023, the Pune unit of DRI had seized over 101 kilograms of banned hypnotic sedative Methaqualone and had launched a probe into a suspected multi-state cartel with overseas links.
