Three held at Lucknow airport with 14.87 Kg hydroponic weed worth Rs 14.87 cr

Lucknow: Immigration officials at Lucknow airport detained three passengers for allegedly attempting to smuggle 14.87 kg of hydroponic weed worth Rs 14.87 crore into India from Bangkok on Friday night.With these arrests, the number of alleged drug mules caught at Lucknow airport this week has risen to five.Officials said all three passengers had landed in Lucknow on AirAsia flight FD-146 from Bangkok at 10.50pm.According to officials, the suspects were identified during passenger manifest analysis and subsequent questioning.In the first case, Boby Kumar Mandal of Bihar came under suspicion due to his unusually short trip to Bangkok after departing from IGI Delhi. During interrogation, he allegedly failed to provide satisfactory answers regarding his journey, raising suspicion among immigration sleuths. His baggage was later checked in the presence of customs officials and 2.95 kg of weed was recovered.In the second case, Ajit Kumar Gaud of Varanasi was intercepted after officials found discrepancies in his travel pattern. He had travelled from Kolkata to Bangkok and returned within a very short duration. During questioning, he allegedly admitted that a check-in bag had been handed over to him by a friend for delivery in Lucknow. The bag contained 3.42 kg of weed.The third accused was identified as Sagar Verma. He was caught with 8.49 kg of weed.They were handed over to the Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) which seized the contraband that was concealed in their luggage in transparent vacuum-packed pouches. The AIU has booked all three under the NDPS Act.Intelligence officials are investigating the smuggling network and possible interstate links connected to the accused.