Easy money trap: 12 arrested in hydroponic cannabis case

An international drug cartel allegedly recruited financially vulnerable Hyderabad youngsters as carriers to smuggle hydroponic cannabis into India. Twelve youths have been arrested and are in judicial custody. Investigators say the couriers were paid Rs 20,000 per trip to transport the contraband.

Hyderabad: Youngsters from the city who faced financial problems and were looking for an opportunity to earn easy money were lured to work as ‘carriers of hydroponic ganja’ by the international drug cartel.

The law enforcement officials in the recent days have caught 12 youngsters who are residents of Hyderabad during their bid to smuggle hydroponic ganja, and now they are languishing in prison.

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The youngsters Rizwan Hussain, Mohammed Rashed, Mohammed Aman Hussain, Mohammed Ibrahim, Abdullah Bin Osman Al Jabri, Syed Hussain Ali Rizvi, Mir Sadiq Ali, Ashraf Khan, Aseem Shareef, Mohammed Bin Jaffar, Sikander Shaik and Mir Afsar Ali Imtiyaz Khan were lured by one Javed Khan of Mumbai for the drug cartel.

“For each trip, the carriers were paid Rs 20,000 and were supposed to carry anywhere between five kilograms and 15 kilograms. If caught, they go to jail, and their families are supposed to bail them out after bearing the legal expenses,” said Sandeep Shandilya, Director, EAGLE Force.

The official explained that a kilogram of hydroponic cannabis in Thailand costs Rs 30 lakh while it is sold for a price between Rs 80 lakh and Rs 1 crore in India. “Only the elite class uses hydroponic cannabis for its high THC value,” said the official.