Hydroponic weed worth Rs 5.56 crore seized at Mumbai airport; passenger arrested

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The customs department has seized hydroponic weed (cannabis), worth Rs 5.56 crore, concealed in food packets in a passenger's baggage at the international airport in Mumbai, an official said on Wednesday.

According to news agency PTI, the customs personnel, based on specific intelligence, laid a trap at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), Mumbai, in the early hours of Tuesday and intercepted the passenger.

During a search of his baggage, the personnel found 5.56 kg of hydroponic weed concealed inside food packets kept in the baggage, PTI reported.

After interrogation, the accused was arrested and charged under the relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, reported PTI.

Hydroponic is a soilless method of growing cannabis using water as the primary medium. Typically, hydroponic weed is grown indoors in a fully controlled environment and is considered as potent as cocaine.

Rs 35-lakh heroin seized; two from Assam arrested in Tamil Nadu

The Prohibition Enforcement Wing Police in Erode, Tamil Nadu, seized heroin worth Rs 35 lakh from two people on Wednesday, PTI reported.

According to the police, based on a tip-off, a team conducted a raid at the two-wheeler parking lot of the Erode Railway Junction. They spotted the two accused, later identified as natives of Assam, walking with a bag. On checking, they found 50 grams of heroin, worth Rs 35 lakh, hidden in the bag, PTI reported.

Upon questioning, the duo, aged 29 and 30, revealed that they had smuggled the contraband from Assam to sell it for a higher profit in Erode.

The police registered a case following which the duo was arrested.

In a similar operation on Tuesday evening, the Prohibition Enforcement Wing Police Police seized three kilogrammes of ganja near Erode Railway Station and arrested a man hailing from Odisha.

Indian Coast Guard seizes 20-kg drugs from Tamil Nadu's Mandapam

The Indian Coast Guard seized contraband marijuana weighing more than 20 kg from Tamil Nadu's Mandapam, ANI reported.

"Swiftly reacting to international input about drug trafficking from local agencies, the Indian Coast Guard, Mandapam, launched its Hovercraft for anti-narco ops on Indo-SL IMBL (International Maritime Boundary Line)," a press release stated.

The ACV (Air Cushion Vehicle) detected 10 abandoned packets of the drug from an island near IMBL. The contraband has been handed over to the Customs Department, Rameshwaram, for further action, ICG added.

(With ANI and PTI inputs)