Bhubaneswar: Marijuana worth around Rs three crore was seized by officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
Following the seizure, three passengers who arrived from Bangkik have been detained on suspicion of smuggling the contraband.
According to sources, the passengers arrived at Bhubaneswar from Bangkok on an IndiGo flight at around 5.30 am. The consignment was allegedly being transported in food and chocolate packets and luggage bags.
It is suspected that the contraband was intended to be transported to Kolkata by road from Bhubaneswar. The three passengers are being interrogated to establish their alleged involvement in the smuggling operation and identify others linked to the network.
Further details are awaited as the investigation progresses. The identities of the detained passengers and other specifics of the case have not yet been disclosed in the information available.
The seizure comes days after DRI and Customs officials seized hydroponic cannabis worth Rs 1.85 crore from four passengers who came from Bangkok to the Bhubaneswar airport on October 17.
During the examination of the checked-in baggage of three passengers, officials detected suspicious packets concealed in specially designed hidden compartments. They recovered six packets containing 4.877 kg of a green-coloured substance after opening the compartments.
The baggage of the fourth passenger initially showed no suspicious concealment. However, during a personal search, officials noticed a tin container labelled as dog food.
DRI officials subsequently sought the assistance of Rubel, a detector dog from the Indian Customs K-9 squad deployed at the airport. After being exposed to a suspected narcotics packet recovered from another passenger’s baggage, the dog examined the container and gave a positive indication
Officials opened the tin and recovered another 0.414 kg of the green-coloured substance concealed inside it.
The seized substances were tested using a narcotic drug detection kit, which confirmed them to be cannabis, also known as marijuana. The total quantity seized from the four passengers was 5.291 kg.
Further investigation is underway to establish the source of the contraband, identify the intended recipients and determine whether the latest case is linked to a wider international drug-smuggling network.