Hybrid ganja worth over ₹52 lakh seized in parcels from UK at Ahmedabad Foreign Post Office

The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Ahmedabad city crime branch seized hybrid ganja valued at more than ₹52.5 lakh from the Import Section of the Foreign Post Office in Shahibaug on Friday evening. The contraband, weighing 525.8 grams, had allegedly been shipped from the United Kingdom concealed inside parcels labelled as chocolates, biscuits and toys.

According to the complaint lodged by Inspector T P Unadkat of the SOG, the operation was mounted after a tip-off that narcotics were being smuggled through international courier parcels. Acting on the information, a team comprising SOG personnel and panch witnesses arrived at the Foreign Post Office around 11.40 am.

Customs officials produced six suspicious parcels received via Royal Mail from London and addressed to multiple recipients in Surat. The packages were declared to contain items such as mini biscuits, DVDs, an action figure and confectionery. On opening, investigators found khaki-coloured packets emitting the distinctive odour of cannabis, cleverly concealed inside bubble-wrapped layers.

Officers from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Ahmedabad, carried out on-the-spot tests using a narcotics detection kit. The plant material tested positive for marijuana. An electronic weighing scale brought in by an independent weigher confirmed that the total weight of the seized hybrid ganja was 525 grams and 800 milligrams, with an estimated international market value of ₹52.58 lakh.

Inspector Unadkat said that the parcels bore UK return addresses, several linked to a London residential block, and were sent under Royal Mail’s international tracked service. The consignments were addressed to fictitious or untraceable names in Surat.

A case has been registered under Sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The sender and intended recipients remain unidentified.

SOG officials said that the contraband and the packaging have been sealed and will be forwarded to the Directorate of Forensic Science in Gandhinagar for detailed chemical analysis. Investigators are also working with customs and postal authorities to trace the origin of the parcels and identify those who ordered the narcotics.

“This appears to be a well-planned attempt to smuggle high-grade cannabis through international courier channels,” an SOG senior officer said, adding that efforts are underway to track the network behind the shipment.