Officers of the Chennai Customs Air Intelligence Unit seized 2,794 g net of hydroponic ganja, described as dried flowering and fruiting tops of cannabis, from an Indian male passenger who arrived from Dubai at Anna International Airport here.[1] The officers intercepted him as he tried to exit through the Green Channel without declaring anything, acting on passenger profiling.[1]
Four transparent airtight packets holding the drug had been concealed inside a baby diaper bag, a detergent powder packet and a chessboard box in his checked-in baggage.[1] The material tested positive for ganja and marijuana with the Narcotic Drug Detection kit and was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.[1] Customs valued the haul at about Rs97 lakh on the illicit market.[1]
The passenger was arrested under the NDPS Act and remanded in judicial custody, with further investigation in progress.[1] Chennai Customs advised the public, especially young people, to stay alert against offers of sponsored foreign travel and easy money for carrying unknown baggage, saying smuggling syndicates fund travel and expenses of young carriers and that such offences invite strict punishment.[1]
