Gujarat’s Ahmedabad International Airport is emerging as a major narcotics transit point after Customs officials seized over 20 kg of foreign ganja worth more than Rs 20 crore from a passenger arriving from Bangkok, days after a heroin haul worth nearly Rs 50 crore at the same airport.
The latest seizure has heightened concerns among enforcement agencies over attempts by international drug syndicates to use Ahmedabad as a transit corridor for narcotics trafficking into India.
The operation unfolded between the midnight of May 20 and the early hours of May 21 after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) alerted Customs officials about a suspected passenger travelling from Bangkok to Ahmedabad carrying narcotic substances.
Acting on the input, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs Department intensified surveillance and screening of passengers arriving on the Thai Airways flight from Bangkok.
During baggage checks, officials identified a suspicious trolley bag and recovered 19 sealed packets containing a green, dry plant-like substance concealed inside.
Tests confirmed the substance to be ganja, with the seized contraband weighing 20.366 kg. Investigators estimated the international market value of the high-grade foreign ganja at over Rs 20 crore.
The consignment was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the accused passenger, Agat Shrivastava from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, was arrested.
Investigators said the arrest has exposed another possible link in a cross-border drug supply chain connecting Bangkok, Ahmedabad and Delhi.
