Customs Zone-III officers in Mumbai registered three separate cases during duty operations conducted on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, recovering suspected narcotic substances and foreign currency worth crores of rupees.
According to an official press note issued by the Airport Commissionerate of Mumbai Customs Zone-III, one case was detected through Advance Passenger Information System profiling. In this operation, officers recovered USD 100,000, equivalent to Rs 93.45 lakh, from a passenger who had arrived in Mumbai from Jamnagar and was scheduled to depart for Dubai on an Indigo Airlines flight.
In a second case, customs officers seized 17.915 kilograms of suspected hydroponic marijuana, with an estimated market value of approximately Rs 17.915 crore, from a passenger who had arrived in Mumbai from Bangkok on a Thai Airways flight.
Based on specific intelligence, officers registered a third case in which 1.900 kilograms of suspected hydroponic marijuana worth around Rs 1.90 crore was recovered from two passengers who had arrived from Bangkok on an Air India flight.
Officials stated that further investigation into all three Mumbai cases is currently underway.
In a separate but equally significant operation, customs officers at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi seized 34,935 grams of suspected hydroponic marijuana from two passengers who arrived on Thai Airways Flight TG-323 from Bangkok on May 8, 2026.
The passengers were identified through Advance Passenger Information System profiling and were intercepted after crossing the Customs Green Channel at the airport. During routine profiling procedures, officers developed suspicion and subjected their baggage to X-ray screening, which revealed suspicious images.
A detailed examination of the luggage led to the recovery of 31 vacuum-sealed packets containing a substance suspected to be hydroponic marijuana.
In an official statement, a Delhi Customs officer said, "On the basis of APIS profiling, two passengers travelling from Bangkok to Delhi by Flight No. TG-323 dated 08.05.2026 were intercepted by Customs officers after crossing the Customs Green Channel at Indira Gandhi International Airport."
The officer further stated that the total gross weight of the recovered substance, including packing material, was 34,935 grams.
"The total gross weight of the recovered substance was found to be 34,935 grams, including packing material. Prima facie, it appeared to be marijuana. The market value is approximately Rs 34.935 crore," the statement added.
Both passengers have been arrested under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
These coordinated seizures underscore the growing use of Bangkok as a major source point for high-value hydroponic marijuana trafficking into India. The large-scale recoveries and arrests by customs authorities in Mumbai and Delhi reflect intensified surveillance and the increasing effectiveness of intelligence-based profiling in dismantling transnational smuggling networks.
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