Hydroponic weed, diamonds and gold worth Rs 14 crore seized at Mumbai airport
Mumbai (PTI): Customs officials seized hydroponic weed, diamonds and gold, collectively worth about Rs 14 crore, at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport over two days and arrested an airport staffer and a few others, officials said on Saturday.
The seizures were made between December 30 and December 31 in separate cases, they said.
Officials from the Airport Commissionerate, Mumbai Customs Zone-III, confiscated 8.008 kg of suspected hydroponic weed from a passenger who had arrived from Bangkok, the official said.
The contraband is valued at around Rs 8.008 crore in the illicit market, he said, adding that the passenger was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
In a separate case, 1.946 kg of suspected hydroponic weed worth about Rs 1.946 crore was recovered from a passenger who also had arrived from Bangkok, the official said.
Hydroponic weed, a potent and expensive form of ganja, is cultivated using water-based, nutrient-rich solutions instead of traditional soil methods.
Officials said a passenger was intercepted and 849.6 carats of diamonds, valued at about Rs 2.52 crore, were recovered from him. The precious stones had been allegedly concealed inside his body cavity, they said.
Customs also seized 1,470 grams of 24-carat gold dust in wax form, valued at around Rs 1.87 crore, from a passenger and a staffer attached to Air India Airport Services Limited (AIASL), an official said.
The gold dust was allegedly passed by one Bangladeshi transit passenger to another, who then handed it over to the AIASL employee inside the airport.
In another case, Customs booked a passenger after recovering 89 grams of 24-carat gold rhodium-plated buttons worth Rs 11.35 lakh, officials said.
Acting on specific information, a Customs team also recovered 160 grams of 24-carat gold worth Rs 20.41 lakh from two passengers, they said.
Efforts are being made to trace the wider networks linked to the seized gold, diamonds and drugs, the officials added.
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Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
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Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
