By Lakshmi Jyothish
Four people were caught by the customs official at city airport on Monday with 13.725kg of hydroponic weed costing close to Rs. 13.72 crore in the black market. This marks the fourth seizure of hydroponic weed made in the last two months.
The use of drug “mules” to smuggle hydroponic weed into the city is an increasing trend as noticed by the Customs officials at Pune airport.
In the most recent case, three men from Maharashtra were caught with the contraband hidden in their check-in luggage after arriving from Bangkok on an IndiGo flight. Investigators also arrested their handler, who was waiting outside the airport to receive them. All four have been arrested under theNDPS Act, 1985. Further investigations are now underway.
This seizure follows a string of similar cases in recent months. On August 8, customs detained Atul Sushil Hiwale with over 6kg of hydroponic weed valued at more than Rs. 6 crore in the illegal market. The reprimanded, had flown into Pune from Bangkok, this time on an Air India Express flight. Just weeks earlier, on July 24, Abhinay Yadav was caught smuggling 10.47kg of the same substance, worth an estimated Rs.5 crore, after landing in Pune on an IndiGo flight from Bangkok.
Customs officers estimate the drug sells for around ₹10,000 per gram in the black market.
Hydroponic weed is considered to be far more stronger than traditional marijuana and is cultivated using a water-based, soil-free method.
A Pune police officer said that the local street price ranges between ₹15 lakh and ₹20 lakh per kilogram, depending on the demand and market conditions. “We had intercepted a similar consignment about six months ago.
The reason this drug fetches such a high price is because it’s synthetic, can even be grown indoors, and delivers a much stronger high compared to regular ganja,” the officer said.