Officers of the Air Intelligence Unit and Airport Batch of Pune Customs intercepted an Indian woman arriving from Bangkok at Pune International Airport on the evening of 5 November 2026.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] She had flown in on Air India Express flight IX-291 and was stopped on passenger profiling and a suspicious scan of her check-in baggage.[1][2][7][9][10] The woman, a Mumbai resident, was arrested.[1][12][7][11]

In her check-in trolley bag officers found specially fabricated false cavities behind the inner lining on both sides, holding two slab-shaped packets wrapped in three layers of vacuum-sealed black plastic.[1][2][3][4][6][7][9][10][11] One account says only that the packets were hidden inside the bag.[7] A Narcotic Drug Field Testing Kit identified the contents as marijuana, also known as ganja or hydroponic weed[1][4][9]; another account describes an orange-green dried substance with a strong pungent odour, identified by a testing machine as high-grade hydroponic cannabis.[2] Customs seized the consignment, weighing 3.255 kilograms, under the NDPS Act, 1985, and estimated its illicit-market value at Rs 1.14 crore.[1][3][6][7][8][9][10][11]

An official said it appeared she had been handed the bag by smugglers, and sources said she had travelled to Bangkok four days before.[12][9] Customs said the repeated seizures pointed to a possible rise in demand for hydroponic weed in Pune and nearby cities, including ahead of Diwali.[12] It is investigating who else took part, on whose instructions the cannabis was smuggled and whom it was meant for.[2][3][4][6][8][9][11]