Man held at Sonauli border with 2.3 kg hydroponic weed worth Rs 1 crore
Sashastra Seema Bal personnel arrested a 34-year-old man from Tamil Nadu at the Sonauli border in Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, with about 2.3 kg of hydroponic weed that officials valued at around Rs 1 crore. He said he had come from Thailand through Nepal, and he was charged under the NDPS Act while investigators looked for the wider network.
🇮🇳 Sonauli border area, Maharajganj district, Uttar Pradesh · India
A man was arrested near the India-Nepal border in Maharajganj district with over
2.30 kg of high-grade hydroponic weed valued at around Rs 1 crore in the
international black market, officials said on Wednesday.[1]Acting on a
tip-off, a team of Sashastra Seema Bal personnel arrested the man in the Sonauli
border area on Tuesday evening.[1]The Sashastra Seema Bal, India’s
border-guard force on the Nepal frontier, said the man was a 34-year-old from
Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu.[2]SSB Assistant Commandant Priya Yadav
said he had just entered India on foot when he was checked and the contraband
was found in his bag.[1]Maharajganj police and SSB personnel stopped him
during a joint check near border pillar 517/2 at Sonauli, the main border
crossing.[3]
He told officers he had flown from Thailand to Kathmandu and then travelled by
road to Belahiya before trying to walk into India through Sonauli.[3]The man
was questioned and then handed over to the Narcotics Control Bureau, the PTI
account says, while the Hindi accounts say the local police charged him.[1]
Officials said investigators were trying to trace other people in the suspected
cross-border drug trafficking network.[2]The Sonauli border crossing has seen
several significant drug seizures in recent months, and agencies have tightened
monitoring there.[2]Hydroponic weed costs far more than ordinary ganja, and
cases of it being trafficked internationally are growing.[3]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Dainik Jagranjagran.comHIमहराजगंज : 2.3 किलो हाइड्रोपोनिक गांजे के साथ आरोपित गिरफ्तार, SSB और पुलिस की संयुक्त कार्रवाई में पकड़ा गया बदमाश
Open questions the AI reported
The accused's name is spelled Mohammad Idrish in the English reports, while Dainik Jagran gives a different name and Dainik Bhaskar a different patronymic, so no name is recorded in the structured details.
PTI says the accused was handed over to the Narcotics Control Bureau and booked under the NDPS Act, while Dainik Bhaskar says he was produced in court in a case registered at Sonauli police station; both accounts are reported.
Dainik Jagran times the interception at about 9:30 am on 9 June, while Rediff and Awaz say Tuesday evening; 9 June 2026 is used as the incident date.
The Rs 1 crore figure is the authorities' estimate of the international black-market value, not a verified sale price.
No remand order, bail decision or later court outcome was reported.
The Rediff page's photo is an ANI picture filed under a 2025 image name, and Awaz labels its image a representation, so no photo is listed as showing this seizure.
Coordinates are for Sonauli town centre, not the exact check point near border pillar 517/2.
Only the police's own account was available; defence comment and travel documents were not reported.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Dainik Bhaskar: Maharajganj police said he was booked under sections 8, 20 and 23 of the NDPS Act in a case registered at Sonauli police station and produced before a court.
Left out case stage, as its quotation was not found in Dainik Bhaskar.
Left out charges, as its quotation was not found in Dainik Bhaskar.
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.
