High hopes go up in smoke as Indian women busted in weed run
Trio nabbed at Mumbai Airport after free holiday turns into drug-trafficking disaster
Three Indian women dreaming of a free Thai getaway ended up in cuffs instead, after being caught smuggling high-grade hydroponic weed worth a staggering 85,000,000 rupees (32.4 million baht) into Mumbai.
The trio were intercepted by sharp-eyed customs officers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport yesterday, June 4, following a tip-off about a major drug shipment arriving from Bangkok.
Busted with nearly 9 kilogrammes of potent marijuana between them were 44 year old Priyanka Kumar, from Delhi; 19 year old Ishika Kaltari from Bhopal; and Asma Bano Rajab, a woman in her early 40s from Gujarat.
Priyanka was allegedly carrying 3.24kg, Ishika had 3.52kg, and Asma stashed 1.86kg of the high-value contraband in her luggage, said a Mumbai Airport spokesperson.
“Both the accused admitted before Customs officials that they indulged in smuggling of marijuana despite knowing that trafficking drugs is a punishable offence, as they were lured with an offer of a free foreign trip to Bangkok.”
The women landed separately, two on flight SL218 and one on VZ760, but were stopped after appearing “nervous and uneasy” at the terminal. A thorough search of their baggage revealed the stash of high-end, hydroponically-grown cannabis, known for its intense potency and price tag.
Asma, a former salon worker now out of a job due to health issues, reportedly confessed she was promised 6,000 baht to deliver the weed to someone in Surat.
A bigger international racket could be in play, with one of the suspects found to have contact details for a Brazilian woman suspected of supplying the marijuana. Police believe a Brazil-based operator may be orchestrating the smuggling route via Thailand, reported the Indian Express.
All three women have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for smuggling commercial quantities of marijuana. Investigations are ongoing.
In related news, in April, Indian Customs officials at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport uncovered a staggering 78.4 million baht worth of hydroponic weed in a series of busts that spanned three separate cases.
Acting on specific intelligence, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs made the first arrest when they intercepted a couple, 40 year old Mohammed Bilakhiya and his wife Afreen Bilakhiya, shortly after their arrival from Bangkok.
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Wow! 1 million dollars for 9 kgs of weed! Must be a misprint!