Rs 45 crore worth of hydroponic weed, gold, and diamonds seized at Mumbai airport; 12 held

Mumbai, Dec 11: Mumbai Customs officials have confiscated hydroponic marijuana, gold bars, and diamonds worth Rs 45 crore being smuggled through Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, and have arrested twelve individuals between December 3 and 10 as part of this major haul.

According to sources, Rs 37.26 crore worth of hydroponic weed (marijuana) was recovered from nine passengers, which was concealed inside trolley bags bearing baggage tags of another flight and in lumps of tamarind respectively. In a separate operation, Customs officers arrested three passengers with 6 kg of hydroponic weed worth ₹6 crore, seized gold worth ₹1.51 crore from four other passengers and diamonds worth ₹87.75 lakh from another.

Based on relevant information, all of these perpetrators had arrived from Bangkok on various flights, and have been arrested under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. A further investigation is also underway to identify the larger syndicates behind the smuggling attempts, as added by officials.