Ahmedabad: A Punjab couple’s attempt to smuggle hydroponic ganja worth ₹4.08 crore into the city was busted after baggage checks revealed the contraband. Gujarat CID Crime Anti-Narcotics Task Force arrested the duo at Sabarmati railway station on Wednesday, soon after airport officials detected more than 4kg of marijuana hidden inside two bags.

According to the FIR, Niteshwari Ratnalal Gill of Jalandhar had arrived in Ahmedabad on August 13 from Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur on an AirAsia flight with two travel bags concealing hydroponic ganja. The bags—one green and one grey—had been misplaced in transit, after which Gill lodged a missing baggage claim. Following instructions relayed by a Dubai-based contact through a handler named Sebti, the bags reached Ahmedabad on August 15.

When opened in the presence of CISF and customs officials, the bags were found to contain clothes and toys on the surface, with hidden layers of black- and red-taped packets labeled “Super Lemon” and “Ice Cream.” Forensic tests confirmed the substance was marijuana, weighing 4.083 kg in total. Acting on inputs, the task force tracked Gill (35) and her husband Simon Peter (29) to Sabarmati station and seized their passports, travel papers, boarding passes, AirAsia stickers, and two mobile phones.

Police said the consignment’s contraband value is estimated at ₹4.08 crore, with other seized items worth ₹25,500. The couple has been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and further investigation is underway to identify their associates. DeshGujarat