Mumbai: In two cases, the Customs arrested two persons, including a woman, for smuggling 21 kg of hydroponic weed worth Rs 22 crore from Bangkok on Sunday. Officials said that smuggling of weed from Bangkok increased in recent years as Thailand became the first Asian nation to legalise medical cannabis.
In the first case, Patrignaben Kapadia, a native of Navsari, who arrived from Bangkok was intercepted.She was asked to undergo a physical examination of her baggage. A search of her baggage, stuffed with a huge quantity of clothes, revealed vacuum-sealed packets with a greenish dry leafy substance with a pungent smell. On checking with the field kit test, it tested positive for hydroponic weed (marijuana). “It weighed 14.62 kg and is valued at Rs 14 crore in the international market,” said an official.
In the second case, aMohammed Pulikkalakath (31) from Kerala, who arrived from Bangkok was caught with Rs 8 crore worth of weed. His baggage had 8.3 kg of dry lumps which tested positive for marijuan valued around Rs 8.3 crore. — S Ahmed Ali