Chennai airport crackdown: Smugglers’ new craze for high-potency hydroponic ganja from overseas | Chennai News

CHENNAI: Hydroponic ganja, as highly potent and addictive as cocaine, seems to be the Chennai-bound smugglers’ newfound favourite contraband. Customs sleuths at Chennai airport arrested another man for smuggling Rs 7.6 crore worth of hydroponic ganja from Malaysia.
On Friday, the air intelligence unit of Chennai Customs, based on information, intercepted the flyer who arrived from Malaysia. His check-in baggage was subjected to searches, and customs officers found hydroponic ganja weighing about 7.6 kg hidden inside. The contraband is worth Rs 7.6 crore in the market, said customs sources.
The man was arrested and remanded in judicial custody. This is the second seizure of hydroponic ganja at Chennai airport in the last month after a woman was arrested in possession of 2.8 kg of hydroponic ganja of various hybrid varieties on November 21 when she landed in Chennai from Thailand. A man who shadowed her was also arrested.
Unlike regular ganja, hydroponic ganja is cultivated in a controlled atmosphere and is highly potent. Cocktail varieties are known for their different flavours and effects on smokers and were not easily available in India.
Narcotics Control Bureau‘s (NCB) Chennai zone’s Director P Aravindhan said, “The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in hydroponic ganja is 30% compared to 3% found in regular ganja smuggled from Andhra Pradesh. It is this content that makes it as potent as cocaine and drives those consuming it to become addictive.”
However, NCB has not come across the prevalence of hydroponic ganja consumption unlike synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine.