CHENNAI: With the smuggling of the high-potency hydroponic ganja from Thailand to India on the rise, the centre has raised this issue with Thai authorities. The matter was brought to their attention in a recent meeting, the union home ministry informed the Parliament on Tuesday.
Official data tabled by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai indicated that seizures in Karnataka (226 kg) and Tamil Nadu (194 kg) accounted for a major quantity of the drugs seized since 2023.
The data showed the seizures went up sharply, with the first five months of 2025 accounting for more than double the quantum of hydroponic ganja seized in 2023. The seizure was 169 kg in 2023, which rose to 302 kg in 2024 and 373 kg in the first five months of 2025. Over 130 people have been arrested since 2023, as per the data.
Known locally as OG, hydroponic ganja is as potent as cocaine, as the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content is 30%-40% compared to 3%-4% found in regular ganja. Investigators peg its street price at around Rs 1 crore per kg, which is the same as that of synthetic drug methamphetamine in Chennai.
“The government has raised the issue with the authorities in Thailand and had also flagged it in a bilateral meeting held from May 27-29 in Bangkok. The (smuggling) modus operandi showed involvement of human carriers on flights originating from Thailand as well as the use of courier parcels,” the ministry said in a reply to an unstarred question asked by Lok Sabha member Benny Behanan.
Interestingly, the modus operandi used in all these cases is similar, with the drug packed in air-tight plastic bags which are concealed inside tetra packs of fruit juices, chocolates or ready-to-eat breakfast items. This is to ensure that its smell does not escape and alert the officials. The ministry said air routes have been identified as major trafficking routes for such smuggling.