This was the second catch of hydroponic weed from Pune airport this year. Last Wednesday, Customs authorities recovered over 5kg of this weed, costing Rs5.42 crore, from a Mumbai-based traveller who landed in Pune from Bangkok. The catch, according to Pune Customs, was its biggest ever till date. “The flyer in the latest case also hails from Mumbai and came to Pune on the same Air India Express flight (IX-241). He had a check-in bag, which we decided to check based on intelligence inputs and profiling. Inside was a large LED light, which is unusual for flyers to carry. The light was opened from behind, and we found a large packet of weed neatly packed in carbon paper inside,” a Customs official told TOI. “While the quantity is less compared to the previous catch, the way this weed is being concealed to fox officials is interesting and challenging. Last week, the weed was hidden in toy boxes to give the impression that the person was carrying gifts. However, our team has been alert and was able to foil the attempts,” another official said. On Sunday, the contraband was seized and the passenger arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. “Further investigations into the same are ongoing. The man appears to be a willing carrier,” the official said. In an earlier conversation, Customs authorities had said that Pune was being targeted for such contraband mainly because of the presence of many students and an abundance of educational institutions, providing ready demand.
