Gujarat woman arrested at Mumbai airport for smuggling 2 kg of marijuana from Bangkok

Mumbai Customs’ Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) has arrested 40-year-old Punam Mestry, a resident of Valsad, Gujarat, for allegedly smuggling 2,005 grams of marijuana into India. She was intercepted at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, when she arrived from Bangkok.

According to Customs officials, Mestry’s baggage contained two vacuum-sealed packets concealed among clothes and chocolates. Officers noted a strong odour coming from the bags, and a preliminary test confirmed the green substance was ganja.

Mestry reportedly admitted that she was aware of the strict legal penalties associated with drug smuggling into India, officials said.

The arrest comes shortly after a similar seizure at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, where Customs officials detained two Indian nationals for attempting to smuggle over 6.2 kilograms of marijuana from Bangkok.