20-year-old woman arrested by Mumbai airport customs for smuggling ₹9.72 crore worth of hydroponic weed from Bangkok | Representational Image
Mumbai: The officials from the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Airport Customs in the wee hours of Thursday arrested a 20-year-old make up artist for allegedly smuggling Hydroponic Weed worth Rs 9.72 crore from Bangkok. The accused woman has been identified as Riya Biswas, a resident of Dinajpur in West Bengal.
According to the Customs sources, on Wednesday, officers of AIU intercepted one passenger Riya Dutta Biswas, on the basis of specific intelligence that she might be carrying some contraband items, arrived at CSMI Airport, Mumbai from rom Bangkok.
Thereafter the search of the baggage carried by the passenger was conducted. The officers opened her trolley bag having brand wherein total 18 pouches were found stuffed in the bag. When the pouches were cut and opened, the transparent vacuum sealed packets containing greenish coloured leafy substance was recovered, sources said.
“On cutting the transparent vacuum sealed packets, the packets were found stuffed with greenish coloured dry leafy substance in lumps form having a strong pungent smell. The officer tested the same which showed positive result for Hydroponic Weed (Marijuana), a substance covered under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act,” said an agency source.
The officer then weighed the total greenish coloured dry leafy substance in lumps form, which resulted into recovery of total net weight 9726 grams of greenish coloured dry leafy substance in lumps form purported to be Hydroponic Weed, which was seized on the reasonable belief that it was being smuggled into India.
“Riya Biswas in her statement inter-alia admitted that she was aware that smuggling of Hydroponic Weed and other illegal drugs into India attracts stringent punishment as per laws prevalent in India. However, she was getting handsome amount of quick and easy money in lieu of smuggling the contraband to India. We are probing who had supplied said drugs to her and who was supposed to receive the same in Mumbai,” the official said.