Gaya: In one of the biggest narcotics hauls in the state, customs officials seized about 25kg of hydroponic marijuana, valued at around Rs 25 crore, at Gaya International Airport on Monday. The consignment arrived on Thai AirAsia flight FD 122 and five carriers were taken into custody on charges of smuggling. This is the second seizure of hydroponic marijuana at the airport in recent months. Officials said the narcotics had been deceptively concealed in multi-layered toy packets. However, the attempt was detected during X-ray screening, following which the carriers were immediately detained. About a year ago, more than 8kg of the banned substance had been recovered from a Thai national at the same airport. Experts say hydroponic marijuana is not grown in India and, because of its controlled cultivation technique, is considered more toxic than other varieties of marijuana.The large recovery has caused concern in official circles. All five alleged smugglers, including two women, are Indians. Three of them hail from Uttar Pradesh and two women are from Punjab. Those arrested have been identified as Ashwini Kumar Dwivedi, Gulshan Meena, Gaurav Bidhudi, Manprit Kaur and Dilprit Kaur. Ashwini and Gulshan are from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Manprit Kaur and Dilprit Kaur are from Bathinda and Ludhiana districts of Punjab, respectively, and Gaurav Bidhudi is from Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh.At present, flights to three foreign destinations operate from Gaya International airport – Paro in Bhutan, Yangon in Myanmar and Bangkok in Thailand. The Gaya-Bangkok sector is the most popular route and most cases of narcotics and gold smuggling have been reported on this route. In 2023, about 12kg of gold being smuggled from Bangkok was also seized.Customs superintendent Sanjay Kumar, however, remained tight-lipped about possible associates or gang members linked to the arrested smugglers, as well as the intended end users of the narcotics. Although Punjab has gained notoriety for drug abuse and both the women smugglers are from that state, officials believe drug abuse in Bihar has also increased as a fallout of the prohibition policy of the state govt.According to sources, travel records and contact lists of the narcotics carriers are currently being examined as part of the ongoing investigation.
