14 kg first-quality hydroponic ganja from Thailand seized at Chennai airport

CHENNAI: The Customs officers at Chennai airport seized 14 kg of what is believed to be first-quality hydroponic ganja, estimated to be worth Rs 7 crore, at the Chennai airport on Thursday. The Delhi Customs officers received information from their counterparts in Thailand that drugs were being smuggled by a passenger on a Thai Airways flight that arrived in Chennai from Bangkok. They were also told that the narcotic was kept inside the suitcase and received details of the baggage. The Thailand officials asked the Customs officers to arrest the passenger when the person collected it from the conveyor belt. The Delhi Customs officials in turn alerted their colleagues in Chennai. While monitoring the conveyor belt area, they found that a suitcase with a white marking was left unclaimed. The Customs officials here recovered and opened the suitcase to find high-quality hydroponic ganja weighing about 14 kg and worth Rs 7 crore. The officers suspect that the passenger could have realised that he was being watched and hence left the baggage and escaped. The suitcase belongs to a passenger in Puducherry, said officers, adding that a search was on to nab him.