6 Malayalis intercepted mid-baggage check with cannabis worth Rs 23 crore at Chennai Airport

In a major anti-narcotics operation this week, customs officials at Chennai International Airport seized 23 kilograms of high-grade hydroponic ganja, valued at approximately Rs 23 crore in the illicit market, and arrested six youths reportedly acting as drug couriers for an international smuggling syndicate.

The seizure, one of the largest of its kind in Tamil Nadu, was carried out by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs, based on precise intelligence inputs about drug trafficking involving travellers arriving from Bangkok, Thailand.

How the operation unfolded

Acting on a tip-off, AIU officials began surveillance of flights coming from Bangkok earlier this week.

On Thursday, officers stopped a group of four Kerala-based youths returning from Thailand. During baggage checks, 15 kg of hydroponic ganja was recovered. The contraband was concealed inside packaged food items and chocolate packets.

In a follow-up operation early Friday, officials intercepted two more Kerala residents on another Bangkok-Chennai flight. Searches of their luggage yielded an additional 8 kg of ganja hidden in similar packaging.

Combined, the total haul of 23 kg is estimated to be worth around Rs 23 crore on the black market.

Who were the accused?

Preliminary investigations reveal that all six individuals are graduates, with some having engineering degrees. According to customs officials, they are alleged to have been acting as smuggling mules, transporting drugs for an international trafficking network in exchange for payment.

Sources familiar with the probe suggest that economic distress and lack of lucrative employment opportunities may have motivated them to take up smuggling assignments, despite their educational qualifications.

Hydroponic ganja — what makes it valuable?

Hydroponic ganja is cannabis cultivated without soil, using nutrient-rich water solutions, a method that produces high-potency marijuana with elevated levels of THC. Such variants command significantly higher prices in illicit markets than traditional ganja.

While Indian law does not differentiate between types of cannabis, its high potency makes hydroponic ganja particularly attractive to traffickers because of its higher resale value abroad, especially in countries where cannabis has been legalized or decriminalised.

Analysts say the price in markets like Thailand can be many times higher than in India, fueling trafficking through popular flight routes.

Customs ramp up surveillance amid regional trends

The Chennai seizure is part of a wider trend of hydroponic ganja busts at Indian airports, especially involving flights from Southeast Asia.

Recent cases include significant hauls at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, where over 27 kg of similar contraband was recovered in a separate intelligence-led arrest.

Customs and narcotics agencies are reportedly coordinating across airports nationwide to share intelligence and tighten checks on passengers arriving from international destinations, particularly Bangkok, a known hub for legalized cannabis sales where traffickers exploit legal loopholes to move drugs into India.

Legal action and probe status

All six suspects have been taken into custody and are being processed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Further investigation is ongoing to identify the wider network involved and to trace links to larger drug syndicates operating both domestically and internationally.

Authorities are also examining travel histories, financial transactions, mobile data and any communications that could reveal the scale and reach of the smuggling ring.