Hydroponic weeds worth Rs 3 crore seized from woman passenger at Coimbatore airport

COIMBATORE: The air intelligence unit (AIU) of the customs department seized 3.155 kg of hydroponic weed from a woman passenger who arrived at the Coimbatore International Airport from Bangkok in Thailand via Singapore on a Scoot Airlines flight on Friday night.

The AIU received a tip-off about smuggling of hydroponic weed (ganja grown in a water-based and nutrient-rich solution, instead of in soil) to Coimbatore International Airport. The Scoot Airlines flight landed here around 11.16 pm, and AIU officers began checking the baggage of the passengers.A woman passenger hailing from Kerala had six packets of chips in her luggage. The officials opened the packets and found 3.155 kg of hydroponic weed valued at around Rs 3 crore.

The officials arrested her.Sources said the woman told the officials that someone had placed the packets in her luggage and she was not aware of the hydroponic weed. Last month, the AIU team seized 5.25 kg of hydroponic weed worth Rs 5 crore from a passenger at the airport here. Many carriers have started smuggling contrabands from Bangkok to the Coimbatore International Airport or the Trichy International Airport via Singapore.