Three family members held at Chennai airport with 23.48 kg of hydroponic ganja
Chennai Customs arrested a woman and two men from the same family after finding 23.48 kg of hydroponic ganja in their baggage when they landed from Bangkok on 26 January 2025. Customs valued the seizure at Rs 23.5 crore and remanded the three in judicial custody under the NDPS Act.
🇮🇳 Chennai international airport, Chennai, Tamil Nadu · India
Customs officers at Chennai international airport arrested three people, one
woman and two men from the same family, after intercepting them with hydroponicganja smuggled in from Thailand.[1]The three had arrived in Chennai from
Bangkok on 26 January 2025.[2]Acting on specific intelligence, the Chennai
Customs air intelligence unit intercepted the trio when they landed.[3]
Officers found 23.48 kg of hydroponic ganja hidden in packages of frozen fruits.[2]Customs valued the seizure at Rs 23.5 crore.[2]The Times of India
reported the overall seizure as weighing 23.5 kg, the same figure as its rupee
value.[3]NDTV reported that the ganja was concealed in soft drink powder
packets, a detail that conflicts with the frozen-fruit packaging described
elsewhere.[1]Hydroponic ganja is cannabis grown in water rather than soil,
sold in India under street names including OG, sugarcone and Kush.[1]
The three told investigators that someone at Bangkok airport had handed them the
packages to deliver in Chennai, and each was paid Rs 15,000 for the job.[3]All three were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
Act, 1985 and remanded in judicial custody.[2]Customs warned travellers not
to accept parcels from strangers at foreign airports.[3]The Times of India
said Indian law does not treat about 20 kg of hydroponic ganja as a commercial
quantity, which makes bail easier to obtain.[3]
Photos and video
Photo published with the Times of India report, captioned as the hydroponic ganja worth Rs 23.5 crore seized at Chennai airport. Photo: The Times of IndiaPhoto details
The packaging is described as frozen-fruit packages by The Hindu and the Times of India but as soft drink powder packets by NDTV; the report attributes both accounts.
The Times of India gives the seizure as 23.5 kg while The Hindu gives 23.48 kg; 23.48 kg is recorded.
The Times of India reported that customs had seized hydroponic ganja at Chennai airport earlier in January 2025, involving another 5.7 kg and two more arrests; that is a separate event left out here.
No court outcome beyond the remand in judicial custody, and no names of the accused, were published.
The NDTV page image is a representational stock photograph and is not included; only the Times of India photo captioned as this seizure is listed.
Kangra district police's CIA team arrested two men from Chamba district with 1.107 kg of charas in the Sokru Dam area of Baijnath. A case was registered under the NDPS Act at Baijnath police station, and police said they were questioning the men about the source of the charas and where it was to be supplied.
Police in Sirari bazaar in Bihar's Sheikhpura district seized 150 grams of ganja from a paan stall and arrested Doman Singh, also known as Prabhakar Singh. The stall stands on Purana Station Road within 500 metres of an educational institution, and the station chief said an FIR was registered under the NDPS Act.
Bandipora police arrested two men travelling on a scooty at Gunchipora near Bakshi Bund on 11 November 2026 and recovered 914 grams of a suspected cannabis powder-like substance from them. Police registered FIR No. 244/2026 at Police Station Sumbal under the NDPS Act and said they were investigating the source of the contraband and its supply links.
Police in Station Ghanpur, Jangaon district, Telangana, arrested four men accused of selling dried ganja, including the man who bought some, and seized 40 grams of the drug, a mobile phone and 1,000 rupees in cash. Circle Inspector S. Srinivas said a case was registered against the four and they were remanded to judicial custody.
