Mumbra Resident Arrested at Mumbai Airport with 12.7 kg of Hydroponic Weed

Mumbai Airport Customs officials have arrested a resident of Mumbra, Thane, for allegedly attempting to smuggle a large consignment of drugs into India from Thailand.

The arrested passenger, identified as Mohammad Aman Dosani, was intercepted at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (CSMI) Airport on Monday following his arrival on a flight from Bangkok.

According to Customs officials, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit stopped Dosani based on profiling through the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) after he had cleared immigration. Officers then conducted a detailed search of his trolley bag.

During the examination of the luggage, officials recovered 13 packets containing greenish-brown flowering and fruiting tops of a plant suspected to be hydroponic weed (cannabis). The recovered contraband weighed a total of 12,734 grams.

Upon questioning about the narcotics, Dosani claimed that he was unaware of what was inside the bag. He told investigators that the luggage had been handed over to him in Bangkok by an individual named Mr. Pandey, who instructed him to transport it to India and hand it over to an unidentified person in Mumbai.

Customs authorities seized Dosani's passport and Bangkok-to-Mumbai boarding pass under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. He was subsequently placed under arrest.

An official stated that preliminary investigations indicate Dosani's prima facie involvement in the illegal import of cannabis into the country. The probe also points to the suspected involvement of other individuals, including the handler identified as Pandey and other associates, who are yet to be traced and apprehended.

Dosani was produced before a court, where advocates Arun Gupta and Ashish Singh represented him. Following the arguments, the court remanded the accused to judicial custody as the investigation continues.