Bhubaneswar, Jan 15: In a major drug bust at Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), authorities seized ganja worth around 4 crores that were hidden inside food packets.
The Customs Department and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) acting on a tip-off seized ganja and arrested the person.
The accused has been identified as a resident of Kerala, had concealed the ganja within food parcels from Bangkok and was reportedly smuggling them for a commission.
Worth mentioning, two women were arrested on Monday for possession of ganja worth over Rs 9 crore at Bhubaneswar airport.
The arrested two women, Nasira Khatun and Abida Khatun of West Bengal, have reportedly told the Customs officials during questioning that the racketeers were using mostly women to smuggle the processed marijuana from Germany to Malaysia and then to India.
The Customs Commissionerate had also seized the ganja from two female passengers at the airport on Jan 6. The two flyers, who arrived at BPIA from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were found carrying greenish and lumpy substance in 19 vacuum packed transparent packets in the checked-in baggage.
After Customs officials seized Ganja in at least three operations at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar in January 2025, it has come to the fore that an international gang is behind the racket of smuggling the contraband through the airport.
