Based on passenger profiling, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), Chennai Customs, intercepted a 62-year-old Malaysian male passenger arriving from Kuala Lumpur at Chennai International Airport on August 31, 2026. The passenger attempted to clear through the Green Channel without making any declaration to Customs.

Upon a detailed examination of his checked-in baggage, officers recovered four transparent, airtight packets containing dried greenish-brown flowering and fruiting tops of a plant, concealed inside false bottoms. The recovered contraband weighed 3,452 grams (net weight) and tested positive using a Narcotic Drug Detection Kit. The seized high-grade hydroponically cultivated contraband carries an estimated illicit market value of Rs. 1.20 Crore.

Chennai Customs confiscated the material under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The passenger was arrested under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act and remanded to judicial custody, with further investigation underway to trace wider smuggling links.

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