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54 arrests in 90 days: Thailand, Vietnam drug routes under scanner at Kolkata airport
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The Indian Express
Kolkata airport ganja seizures surged in the first quarter of 2026–27, with Customs registering 58 cases, arresting 54 people and recovering nearly 397 kg of marijuana (File photo for representative use).
In the first quarter of the 2026–27 financial year alone, 54 people—53 Indian nationals and 1 foreign national—were arrested at the Kolkata airport as authorities cracked down on massive drug smuggling networks.
As per data available with The Indian Express, from April to June, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) under the Office of the Commissioner of Customs (Airport and Air Cargo Complex Commissionerate) registered 58 individual cases and seized a staggering 396.745 kilograms of ganja.
This high-volume recovery points to an aggressive, intelligence-led enforcement drive aimed at shutting down key international drug transit routes operating through the region.
Investigation into these smuggling operations revealed that the vast majority of the intercepted narcotics originated in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, with secondary streams arriving on international flights from Phuket, also in Thailand, Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, and Singapore.