Profiling Flags Passenger Arriving From Vietnam
Customs officers at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad arrested two men over the weekend after intercepting more than two kilograms of suspected cannabis. According to a Sunday statement from customs officials, the Air Intelligence Unit carried out the operation on Saturday, October 17. Officers singled out a male passenger for detailed inspection based on intelligence profiling after he landed on flight VJ-1805 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. When customs inspectors searched the traveler's luggage, they discovered seven vacuum-sealed packets hidden inside a black handbag. The packets contained a pungent, green-colored herbal substance weighing a combined 2,117 grams, including the plastic packaging. A forensic scientist called to the airport terminal conducted preliminary chemical tests and confirmed the packets contained active marijuana compounds, locally known as ganja.
WhatsApp Chats Lead To Accomplice Outside Terminal
Following the baggage discovery, investigators questioned the arriving passenger and examined digital messages stored on his mobile phone. Recovered WhatsApp chat logs revealed detailed conversations coordinating the passenger's flight bookings, travel itinerary, and concealed luggage. Those digital trails quickly led customs officers to a second man waiting at the airport to receive the smuggled consignment. Investigators stated that the receiver had arranged the courier's trip under instructions from handlers based overseas. Authorities arrested both men on the spot and confiscated the narcotics under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985.
Part Of A Wider Crackdown On Smuggled Narcotics
Detectives are now conducting further inquiries to trace the international smuggling syndicate and identify the foreign handlers financing the couriers. Saturday's arrest adds to a growing string of high-grade cannabis seizures at Ahmedabad's international terminal in recent weeks. On September 21, customs officers intercepted a passenger arriving from Bangkok carrying 8.91 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana. In another recent bust at the same airport, inspectors uncovered 5.51 kilograms of suspected hydroponic cannabis disguised inside sealed food packaging. Customs authorities across India have stepped up screening of flights arriving from Southeast Asia to curb the influx of high-potency narcotics. Stay informed on law enforcement operations and breaking news from across India. Read our latest regional coverage at The WAU.
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