Customs officers at Gaya International Airport detained five people who arrived from Thailand on Thai AirAsia flight FD 122 with about 25 kg of hydroponic marijuana.[1]

The five were three men from Uttar Pradesh identified as Ashwini Kumar Dwivedi, Gulshan Meena and Gaurav Bidhudi, and two women from Punjab, Manprit Kaur and Dilprit Kaur.[1] The Times of India reported that Ashwini and Gulshan are from Ghaziabad, Gaurav Bidhudi from Bulandshahar, and the two women from Bathinda and Ludhiana districts.[1]

Dainik Jagran reported that the customs team scored the success at Gaya International Airport on Monday.[2] Dainik Jagran reported that the flight landed at about 12.30 pm on Monday, 26 January 2026.[2]

Dainik Bhaskar reported that all five were to be produced in a Gaya court the next day, Tuesday.[3] Patna Press reported that the five were held under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and had been sent to judicial custody.[4] Patna Press reported that officers searched eight trolley suitcases belonging to the five passengers after suspicious images appeared in the X-ray examination of checked-in baggage.[4]

The Times of India put the value of the consignment at about Rs 25 crore, while Patna Press reported an official estimate of Rs 11.67 crore.[4] Customs commissioner (preventive) in Patna, Dr Mohan Kumar Meena, told Patna Press that the airport had been put on alert after information that narcotics were being smuggled from Thailand and Myanmar.[4] Customs superintendent Sanjay Kumar would not discuss possible associates or the intended end users, and investigators were examining the carriers’ travel records and contact lists.[1] The Times of India reported that this was the second seizure of hydroponic marijuana at Gaya airport in recent months, after more than 8 kg was recovered from a Thai national about a year earlier.[1]