Delhi Customs reports 23.220 kg cannabis seizure in cargo investigation

Delhi Customs says it seized 23.220 kg of suspected hydroponic cannabis from an import consignment at New Delhi's Air Cargo Complex during the night of October 21–22. One more person was arrested on October 22 in the continuing investigation, according to a Finance Ministry release published on October 23.

The department said preliminary tests identified the substance as hydroponic marijuana. These are the investigating authority's findings; the release does not report a conviction.

Follow-up to an earlier seizure

Officers examined a consignment arriving from Bangkok that had been declared as lamps. Customs said the examination followed intelligence from an earlier seizure and questioning of a person linked to someone arrested on October 15.

According to the department, X-ray inspection prompted a closer examination of the shipment. Officers recovered 23 vacuum-sealed packets concealed in its wooden pallet. Customs said it seized the substance and packing materials under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Investigation continues

The department put the latest seizure's estimated market value at about ₹8.12 crore and separately cited an estimated Indian street value of nearly ₹23 crore. Those are different departmental estimates, rather than independently verified sale prices.

Customs said the newly arrested person was produced before a magistrate on October 22. It reported nearly 172 kg seized and two arrests across the wider investigation, including the earlier case. Those cumulative figures should not be confused with the 23.220 kg and one additional arrest announced in this update. Further investigation was continuing.

Source acknowledgment: Ministry of Finance, via the Press Information Bureau (PIB), release 2327632, October 23, 2026.