Gujarat’s Ahmedabad International Airport is emerging as a major narcotics transit point after Customs officials seized over 20 kg of foreign ganja worth more than Rs 20 crore from a passenger arriving from Bangkok, days after a heroin haul worth nearly Rs 50 crore at the same airport.
The latest seizure has heightened concerns among enforcement agencies over attempts by international drug syndicates to use Ahmedabad as a transit corridor for narcotics trafficking into India.
The operation unfolded between the midnight of May 20 and the early hours of May 21 after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) alerted Customs officials about a suspected passenger travelling from Bangkok to Ahmedabad carrying narcotic substances.
Acting on the input, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs Department intensified surveillance and screening of passengers arriving on the Thai Airways flight from Bangkok.
During baggage checks, officials identified a suspicious trolley bag and recovered 19 sealed packets containing a green, dry plant-like substance concealed inside.
Tests confirmed the substance to be ganja, with the seized contraband weighing 20.366 kg. Investigators estimated the international market value of the high-grade foreign ganja at over Rs 20 crore.
The consignment was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the accused passenger, Agat Shrivastava from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, was arrested.
Investigators said the arrest has exposed another possible link in a cross-border drug supply chain connecting Bangkok, Ahmedabad and Delhi.
During preliminary interrogation, Shrivastava allegedly told officials that he travelled from Delhi to Bangkok, where an unidentified person handed over the narcotics consignment and instructed him to transport it to Ahmedabad before proceeding to Delhi.
Officials suspect he was acting as a courier for an international drug syndicate.
Investigators also found that this was reportedly Shrivastava’s first international trip. Despite having no overseas travel history, he was allegedly entrusted with narcotics worth more than Rs 20 crore, prompting officials to suspect that inexperienced carriers are being used to avoid scrutiny.
After intercepting him at Ahmedabad airport, Customs officials seized the contraband and handed over the accused and the case to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for further investigation.
The DRI has launched a probe to identify the source of the consignment, the supplier in Bangkok, the financiers behind the operation and the intended recipients in India.
Officials are also examining whether Ahmedabad airport is emerging as a preferred gateway for smuggling foreign marijuana into the country.
Back-to-back seizures of heroin and imported ganja at the airport have heightened concerns among enforcement agencies over rising international narcotics trafficking through Ahmedabad.