PANAJI
In a major drug bust that has sent shockwaves through the State’s aviation security, Customs officials seized a massive haul of high-value narcotics worth over Rs 8 crore at the Manohar International Airport, officials said on Friday.
Customs officials arrested five passengers with 23.8 kg of hydroponic weed worth more than Rs 8 crore after the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted the passengers, who had arrived from Bangkok (Thailand) and Abu Dhabi via Muscat on Wednesday
Customs Commissioner Sunil B Deshmukh said the officers recovered the contraband concealed inside food packets in the passengers’ checked-in baggage.
Subsequent testing confirmed the substance to be hydroponic weed, following which the accused were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the official said in a statement.
The seized contraband is estimated to be worth over Rs 8 crore in the black market, he added, noting that further investigation is underway.
Meanwhile, in another drug bust, a French national was arrested by Anjuna police following a late-night narcotics raid at Siolim, police said on Friday.
Acting on specific and reliable information, a team from Anjuna Police Station conducted a raid at Aradi, Oxel, Siolim and apprehended 43-year-old Gaelle Louise Daniele Pavillon, who was found allegedly in possession of a substantial quantity of suspected psilocybin-based drugs worth Rs 25 lakh.
