Hydroponic ganja, a cheaper but highly addictive narcotic, is the new gold for smugglers. Customs sleuths at Chennai airport say dwindling profit margins and bigger risks involved in gold smuggling have led to a spike in smuggling of the narcotic. In the past few months, they thwarted 36 attempts to smuggle in hydroponic ganja, and at least six cases involved local gangs.“Smuggling gold is not profitable if even one out of 10 smuggling attempts fails. In the case of hydroponic weed, even one successful attempt makes up for nine failed bids. Small gangs which used to put together money to smuggle gold shifted to hydroponic weed, mostly from Thailand,” said a customs official.
It also helps that Indian laws equate hydroponic weed with ganja and this means that smuggling in even 20kg will attract jail time of three years against up to 20 years for smuggling in even 20 grams of cocaine. Even then, cartels look for unsuspecting youngsters to smuggle hydroponic weed for two primary reasons. “One, smuggling weed would attract the NDPS Act, unlike smuggling gold, which is an economic offence and is dealt with under the Customs Act, with minimal legal implications. So, these cartels do not engage their near and dear ones. Two, weed does not demand huge investment like gold. So, they can lure fresh faces by sponsoring the entire trip, including accommodation and food for a few days in countries such as Thailand, and make them smuggle the weed,” said a customs official.Last week, a Kasimedu fisherman was arrested for possessing 3kg of hydroponic ganja when he arrived from Bangkok. “A city-based cartel which previously engaged in gold smuggling was involved in the case,” said a customs officer.“Usually, Kerala-based cartels dominate when it comes to hydroponic weed, and the primary markets they cater to are Bengaluru and Mumbai. But the involvement of local gangs indicates demand for hydroponic weed,” said official sources. Both Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and customs say they are yet to recognise the threat from hydroponic ganja and that it is as addictive as cocaine or heroin. Though city police officials said they have not come across any hydroponic weed in their regular crackdown on drugs in the city, they have sought intelligence from customs about hydroponic weed movement. Customs sources say that since local cartels are getting into the trade, hydroponic ganja is bound to become more widely available in the city.
