Customs officers at Pune International Airport intercepted an Indian national arriving from Bangkok on the evening of 4 November 2026.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] He had come in on Air India Express flight IX-291 and was stopped after passenger profiling and a suspicious scan of his check-in baggage.[1][18][19][2][5][20][6][7][21][13] One account says officers noticed his suspicious behaviour.[22] The interception was carried out by the Air Intelligence Unit and the Airport Batch of Pune Customs[1][18][5][7][11][13], under deputy commissioner Dheeraj More.[4][6][8][13]

The packets

In his check-in trolley bag, hidden among noodle packets, officers found nine rectangular, silver-coloured packets labelled “Freeze Dried Monthong Durian”.[23][1][2][4][5][6][7][8][24][9][10][12][21][13][14][15][16][25][26] Each was lined with two layers of vacuum-sealed black polythene to mask detection.[1][2][3][4][5][21][13][14] They held yellowish-green dried floral tops with a strong pungent odour, which a narcotics field testing kit identified as hydroponic marijuana.[1][4][5][8][10][13] The consignment weighed 10.642 kilograms, which Customs valued at Rs 3.72 crore[1][22][27][19][2][28][3][4][5][6][7][8][24][9][10][11][12][13][15][29][30][31], about Rs 35 lakh a kilogram.[12]

Arrest

Customs seized the weed with its packing under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.[23][2][5][20][8][10][13] The passenger, 45[22], was arrested and produced before a judicial magistrate, who granted judicial custody till 18 November.[1][22][32][2][28][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][12][13][14][15] Customs said it was searching for the rest of the syndicate behind the attempt.[18][22][2][9][10][21]

On 27 October customs officers had seized 381.27 grams of hashish hidden in the shoes of another passenger arriving on the same flight from Bangkok.[22]