Overview
- Customs at Indira Gandhi International Airport arrested a passenger arriving from Phuket on Sunday and seized 2,759 grams of a green substance suspected to be hydroponic weed after X‑ray images led to a search that recovered four vacuum‑sealed packets.
- Delhi Customs said the passenger was booked under sections 43(a) and 43(b) of the NDPS Act and that the reported weight includes the packing material; further forensic testing and legal proceedings are under way.
- The seizure is part of a week of intelligence‑led actions by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and customs that produced multiple drug and contraband recoveries and the arrest of 20 people, including five foreign nationals.
- Earlier in the week DRI officers at IGI intercepted two arrivals from Dubai and uncovered a specially fabricated trolley cavity that held 4 kg of foreign‑origin gold, illustrating the use of secret compartments and vacuum packing by smuggling networks.
- Officials link rising airport smuggling of hydroponic weed to greater supply from Thailand and say APIS profiling plus technical screening are being used more often to detect vacuum‑sealed consignments and trace the wider syndicates behind them.