NEW DELHI: Customs officials on Wednesday seized marijuana worth Rs 30 lakh here while it was being smuggled into the country from the US, hidden inside parcel consignments declared as having computer servers, an official statement said.
The officers of Delhi Customs (Preventive) intercepted two consignments that had arrived at Delhi's new courier terminal (NCT), air cargo complex, from the US.
The consignor had declared both the consignments having 256 GB level 3 computer server', weighing around 14.5 kgs each, the statement said.
The consignments were passed through X-ray machine wherein certain suspect images were noticed.
The consignments were then opened for detailed physical examination. Computer servers were noticed inside in a packed condition in both of them. However, when the computer servers were opened further from the back by removing the screws, no circuitry was found inside, indicating that they were dummy cases meant for concealment, it said.
On further scrutiny, 12 black packets -- six stuffed inside the cavity of each system -- were recovered from the two consignments, said the statement issued by the customs (preventive) said.
On careful removal of the multiple layers of the packets, greenish-brown dried flowers/plants were found concealed in each, it said.
The found substance was tested with a field narcotics drug test kit (NDTK) and confirmed to be cannabis/marijuana of foreign origin, weighing around 4.6 kgs, having market value of around Rs 30 lakh, the statement said.
Both the consignments were consigned by a private courier agency from Gardena city in the California state of the USA, it said.
The consignor is a company and the both the consignees are individuals based in Ranchi (Jharkhand) and Ahmedabad (Gujarat), the statement said.
This is this month's second such seizure effected by Delhi customs (preventive) at the new courier terminal.
Around 1.9 kgs of cannabis/marijuana valued at Rs 12 lakh was seized on June 6. Marijuanaalso called weed, grass and ganja among other names -- is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the cannabis sativa or cannabis indica plant.
The main psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical in marijuana, responsible for various psychological and physiological effects on the human body, is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
The chemical is found in resin produced by the leaves and buds primarily of the female cannabis plant.
Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the world.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, prohibits the cultivation, possession, use, sale/purchase, import/export, transportation and warehousing of cannabis, except for medical or scientific purposes, officials said.
Possession of over 1 kgs of cannabis and cannabis resin has been notified as commercial quantity for the purpose of the Act, they said.