DRI seizes 845 kg contraband, arrests 15 in fortnight crackdown
Synopsis
In a sweeping fortnight-long operation, the DRI dismantled smuggling routes from Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Dubai, and Doha — seizing 845 kg of contraband and arresting 15 people across seven locations. The single biggest haul: 752.3 kg of ganja hidden in rice husk inside a truck near Bodh Gaya, accounting for nearly 89% of all drugs recovered.
Key Takeaways
The DRI seized 845 kg of contraband and arrested 15 persons across India over the fortnight ending 21 September 2026 .
The largest single haul was 752.3 kg of ganja/cannabis recovered from a truck near Jindapur Toll Plaza, Bodh Gaya on 17 September .
Airports at New Delhi (IGI), Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Calicut recorded seizures of cocaine, hydroponic cannabis, and amphetamine from international passengers.
Smuggling routes implicated include Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Dubai, and Doha .
Concealment methods ranged from knee caps and sarees to rice husk, baby-powder bottles, and salwar suit sets.
All seizures and arrests were made under the NDPS Act, 1985 .
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 845 kg of contraband — including ganja/cannabis, charas, cocaine, and amphetamine — and arrested 15 accused persons across multiple operations spanning the country over the last fortnight, an official confirmed on Monday, 21 September 2026. The operations covered airports, highways, railway stations, and forest corridors, reflecting the breadth of India's narcotics smuggling networks.
Key Seizures and Arrests
In one of the largest single hauls, on 17 September, DRI officers intercepted a container truck near Jindapur Toll Plaza, Bodh Gaya, and recovered approximately 752.3 kg of ganja/cannabis, packed in 737 packets and concealed within rice husk. The contraband, the vehicle, and the rice husk were seized, and the driver was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. This single seizure accounted for nearly 89% of the total contraband recovered in the fortnight-long blitz.
On 20 September, acting on specific intelligence about charas being smuggled from Nepal, DRI officers intercepted two female passengers aboard the Jan Nayak Express at Gorakhpur Railway Station. A personal search revealed approximately 6 kg of charas/hashish concealed in knee caps wrapped around their thighs and hidden beneath their sarees. Both passengers were arrested under the NDPS Act.
Airport Operations Across India
Customs authorities at Mumbai and Bengaluru international airports seized approximately 28 kg of high-grade cannabis/hydroponic weed from four passengers arriving from Thailand and Vietnam, with all four arrested under NDPS provisions.
At Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, New Delhi, on 15 September, DRI officers intercepted an Indian passenger arriving from Dubai via Doha. A thorough inspection of his checked-in baggage led to the recovery of approximately 5.8 kg of white powder packed in nine packets, which tested positive for cocaine during field testing.
At Calicut Airport on 9 September, around 1.9 kg of amphetamine was recovered from a passenger's baggage. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of both the receiver and the organiser, with an additional 17 grams of amphetamine and ₹3.45 lakh in cash also recovered.
Land and Forest Route Busts
On 11 September, the DRI — working in coordination with the Ghariyaband Forest Department — intercepted two individuals at Mentri village, Odisha, who were allegedly transporting narcotic drugs. The search uncovered approximately 48.5 kg of ganja packed in 25 packets across three sacks, along with the scooter used for transportation. Both persons were arrested.
At Indore on 9 September, DRI officers stopped a passenger travelling by bus from Delhi and recovered around 2 kg of amphetamine concealed inside salwar suit sets.
Disguised Packaging and Concealment Methods
At Mumbai on 16 September, an Indian woman passenger travelling from Delhi was intercepted; approximately 493 grams of pills concealed inside bottles labelled 'Baby Powder' tested positive for amphetamine/ecstasy. The passenger was arrested. The variety of concealment methods — from sarees and knee caps to rice husk and labelled bottles — underscores the sophistication of smuggling operations being disrupted.
Broader Enforcement Picture
This sustained two-week campaign highlights DRI's intensified enforcement posture across entry points and internal transit corridors. Notably, the operations span at least seven distinct locations and cover four categories of narcotics, suggesting coordinated trafficking networks that cut across state boundaries and international origins. With international drug routes through Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Dubai, and Doha all implicated, the DRI's fortnight-long sweep points to a widening scope of surveillance and inter-agency coordination.
Point of View
But the true headline is the diversity of smuggling corridors on display — Nepal land routes, Southeast Asian air links, and Gulf transit hubs all active simultaneously. That breadth suggests not a single network but overlapping supply chains, each exploiting a different vulnerability in India's border and airport screening. The near-uniform use of ordinary domestic objects — rice husk, sarees, baby-powder bottles — signals that smuggling has moved from bold concealment to mundane camouflage, making detection harder and resource-intensive. Whether this fortnight represents a genuine enforcement surge or a statistical clustering of routine operations is a question the DRI's annual seizure trends would answer — but that data is rarely made public in comparable form.
NationPress
21 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What contraband did the DRI seize in its September 2026 operations?
The DRI seized a total of 845 kg of contraband over a fortnight, including ganja/cannabis, charas/hashish, cocaine, and amphetamine/ecstasy, across operations at airports, highways, railway stations, and forest areas in India. All seizures were made under the NDPS Act, 1985.
Where was the biggest drug seizure made during the DRI operation?
The largest single seizure was approximately 752.3 kg of ganja/cannabis recovered from a container truck near Jindapur Toll Plaza, Bodh Gaya, on 17 September. The drugs were packed in 737 packets and hidden inside rice husk.
Which international routes were implicated in the DRI drug busts?
The operations revealed active smuggling routes from Nepal (charas via Gorakhpur), Thailand and Vietnam (cannabis via Mumbai and Bengaluru airports), and Dubai via Doha (cocaine via IGI Airport, New Delhi). These routes implicate both land and air corridors.
How many people were arrested in the DRI's fortnight-long operation?
A total of 15 persons were arrested across multiple operations spanning at least seven locations in India, including Bodh Gaya, Gorakhpur, Odisha, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Calicut, and Indore.
What concealment methods did smugglers use in these cases?
Smugglers used a wide range of methods, including hiding charas in knee caps under sarees, packing cocaine in nine separate packets inside checked-in luggage, concealing amphetamine pills in baby-powder bottles, secreting drugs within rice husk in a truck, and hiding amphetamine inside salwar suit sets.
