Overview
- The probe began after an April 7 interception at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport when a traveller was found with 13.2 kg of hydroponic cannabis, and subsequent arrests yielded another 12.739 kg for a total of about 25.94 kg seized.
- Telangana’s EAGLE Force says it has identified roughly 40 suspects and arrested several people as part of an ongoing multiagency investigation.
- Investigators allege the syndicate set up cultivation and procurement links in Pattaya, Thailand, including a leased chamber able to grow 144 plants per cycle and multiannual production plans.
- Prosecutors say smugglers used nearly 300 carriers and about 405 flight bookings, routinely split consignments and routed arrivals through Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat and Kolkata to evade detection.
- Authorities report proceeds were moved through hawala channels, investigators found transfers in Thai baht, and the group planned a ₹20–30 crore nightclub investment that police view as a money‑laundering and distribution front.