Gorakhpur youth held at Lucknow airport with hydroponic weed worth Rs 2.86 crore

LUCKNOW: A 26-year-old man from Gorakhpur was arrested at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (CCSIA), Lucknow, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 2.85 kg of hydroponic weed from Bangkok.The accused, identified as Razzak Ali, was detained by immigration officials during passenger profiling late Wednesday night after he arrived on flight FD-146 from Bangkok. Officials grew suspicious during questioning, following which Ali allegedly admitted that he was acting as a drug mule.He was subsequently handed over, along with his two bags, to the Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at the airport for further examination.During the search of his baggage, AIU officials recovered 12 transparent vacuum-packed pouches containing hydroponic weed. Officials said the seized contraband weighed around 2.85 kg and had an estimated market value of nearly Rs 2.86 crore.Ali was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and remanded to judicial custody.The arrest comes just two days after another youth from Gorakhpur, identified as Vinay, was held at the same airport for allegedly smuggling hydroponic weed on the same Bangkok-Lucknow flight, FD-146. That arrest was made by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) with assistance from the immigration department, which had initially detained the suspect based on suspicion.