Customs officers at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, India, seized a combined 22.89 kg of hydroponic cannabis from three passengers arriving from Bangkok on 13 and 14 October. Bengaluru Customs announced the three interceptions in posts on X and put the combined value of the drugs at just over INR 8 crore, or about INR 80 million1. The cases are the latest in a run of seizures on flights from Thailand to Indian airports this year, at Bengaluru and elsewhere.

Three interceptions in two days

On 13 October, officers intercepted a passenger who had arrived from Bangkok and found 12 kg of hydroponic cannabis in checked baggage, valued by customs at INR 4.20 crore. The same day, another passenger from Bangkok was found with 880 grams, valued at INR 30.80 lakh, also in checked baggage; customs said that passenger was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, India's main drugs law. On 14 October, a third passenger arriving from Bangkok was intercepted with 10.010 kg, valued at INR 3.50 crore1.

The Deccan Herald reports that all three passengers have been arrested under the NDPS Act2. Customs has not said which flights or airlines they travelled on, or whether the cases are linked. The three are suspects only; none has been convicted, and the courts have yet to consider the cases.

A pattern at Bengaluru

Bengaluru's airport customs unit says it has seized about 2,000 kg of hydroponic cannabis over the past 18 months and arrested more than 300 offenders3. On 12 October, a day before the first of this week's seizures, it incinerated about 750 kg of cannabis, including hydroponic weed, and 1.7 kg of cocaine4. A customs official told the Deccan Herald that such disposals are routine and that narcotics are destroyed case by case2.

Earlier cases follow the same route. On 6 May, three passengers from Bangkok were arrested with a combined 12.96 kg in their checked baggage, according to the Press Trust of India, citing a customs post on X5. In late September, the agency reported four more passengers from Bangkok, with 12 kg and 6.54 kg on 24 September and 3.12 kg and 14.97 kg in two further cases6, followed by one passenger with 2.02 kg on 28 September7. Adding this week's three cases, that is at least eight passengers from Bangkok and more than 61 kg since 24 September, based on the reports we were able to check.

Other Indian airports and the Thai background

Bengaluru is not alone. At Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 7.75 kg of suspected hydroponic cannabis from a passenger arriving from Bangkok on 12 October8. In Delhi, customs officers at the air cargo complex found 148.67 kg of hydroponic weed in a consignment from Bangkok, according to India's Ministry of Finance; one person has been arrested9. In Mumbai in March, the customs Air Intelligence Unit ran a special drive that examined every passenger arriving from Bangkok and their luggage, recovering more than 64 kg and arresting four people10.

The airport cases show how much of this work happens on arrival. Each of this week's Bengaluru passengers was stopped after landing, and in two of the three cases customs said the drugs were in checked baggage1. Customs has not said how the passengers were selected for checks.

Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis in 2022 and, since late June 2025, has banned sales without a prescription11. Indian authorities have not linked the Thai rules to the seizures in their statements, and customs has not published national figures for Bangkok routes alone.