Crime Branch seizes 21.5 kg hydroponic marijuana; ex-Customs officer nabbed

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has arrested a former Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs officer for his role in an international drug cartel operating between India, Thailand, and Dubai.

An anonymous source alerted the Anti-Robbery and Snatching Cell of the Crime Branch about the network. The accused has been identified as Rohit Kumar Sharma alias Robit, son of Kumar Sharma, and a resident of Gopal Nagar Extension, Najafgarh, Delhi.

According to police, the accused was apprehended with 21.512 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana (Ocean-Grown Weed) worth Rs 27.24 crore in the international market. Police also seized Rs 44.42 lakh in cash, a Mahindra XUV700, and a scooter believed to have been purchased from drug proceeds.

The operation was launched following specific intelligence received on the intervening night of October 13–14 regarding the supply of a high-value consignment near Janak Cinema in West Delhi. Acting swiftly, a specialised team under ACP Sanjay Kumar Nagpal, led by Inspectors Man Singh, Arvind Singh, and Sunder Gautam, set up a trap at the location and arrested Rohit Sharma. The narcotics were recovered from his possession and residence, after which an FIR was registered under the NDPS Act at the Crime Branch Police Station.

Investigations revealed that Sharma, a B.Tech graduate in Electronics Engineering, had joined the Central Excise Department in 2015 and was dismissed from service in 2023 after being arrested in a gold smuggling and NDPS case by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

Following his dismissal, he relocated to Dubai, where he met an associate, Abhishek from Bihar, and began trafficking Hydroponic Marijuana from Thailand into India. Using his insider knowledge of customs operations, Sharma facilitated the movement of consignments through low-footfall airports such as Guwahati, disguising the contraband as food items.

Hydroponic Marijuana, also known as Ocean-Grown Weed, is a high-grade, hydroponically cultivated cannabis variant with a THC content of up to 40 per cent, making it several times more potent than regular ganja. The high-grade drug is popular in elite party circuits and urban nightlife. Police said Sharma laundered proceeds via hawala and cryptocurrency routes to Dubai. He remains in custody.