50-kg of hydroponic ganja at Bengaluru Airport

Bengaluru: Four passengers, including a man from Mysuru district, who arrived at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) last week, were arrested for allegedly smuggling more than 50-kg of hydroponic ganja.

The seized contraband is estimated to be worth more than Rs. 17 crore, concealed in vacuum-sealed packets containing green-coloured chunks hidden inside a trolley bag.

The accused were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

Customs officials at KIA said, the four passengers had travelled on separate tickets and had no apparent links with one another. All four boarded Thai Airways flight TG 325 from Bangkok at 10 pm on Thursday and arrived at Terminal 2 of KIA around midnight on Friday.

The arrested passengers have been identified as Badruddin Ansari, 45, a native of West Bengal; Ketan, 22, from Jind in Haryana; Stephen Young, 49, a resident of Kolkata; and Thanveer Khan, a native of Nanjangud in Mysuru district.

Of the four, Young was carrying the largest quantity of ganja, 15.7-kg, in his check-in baggage. Customs officials have estimated its value at Rs. 5.5 crore. Thanveer was carrying 10-kg, the lowest quantity among the four, valued at approximately Rs. 3.5 crore.

In a separate interception on Sunday, Customs officials caught another passenger who had arrived on the same flight. Shyam Motiramani (44), a native of Bhavnagar in Gujarat, was allegedly carrying 9-kg of ganja.

However, the report did not clarify whether Motiramani’s seizure was included in the total figure of more than 50-kg or whether he was booked in the same case as the four passengers arrested earlier.