Hold your breath! Over the past ten days, Customs officers at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) have been on a power-packed mission, seizing more than 67 kilograms of hydroponic ganja. These daring operations took place at Terminal 2 between November 17 and 27, turning away multiple smuggling attempts primarily from passengers arriving from Bangkok, Thailand, and one from Hat Yai, Thailand. It all kicked off on November 17 with a stunning catch — Customs nabbed a passenger from Bangkok carrying 3.83 kg of hydroponic ganja, valued at a shocking ₹1.34 crore! This was just the opening act. The raids turned intense on November 18, when four cases hit the radar, with tiny bundles ranging from 4 kg to nearly 8 kg per passenger. That day alone saw a huge total of over 23 kg seized. One passenger from Hat Yai was caught with 4 kg, worth ₹1.4 crore. The drama didn't stop there. On November 19, three more passengers appeared with 13.36 kg of ganja. Over the week, officials seized 6.43 kg more on November 22 and 5 kg on November 26. But the grand finale came on November 27, when three passengers from Bangkok were busted carrying a whopping 15.72 kg of hydroponic ganja. This haul alone was worth a jaw-dropping ₹5.5 crore! Officials say these numbers show the rapidly growing demand for such narcotics in Bengaluru. The Customs crackdown reveals how the city’s appetite for this drug is swelling, leading smugglers to desperately flood the market. But wait, that’s not all! The Customs officers also smashed two major wildlife trafficking attempts. In one, five wild animals smuggled from Bangkok were seized. In another, 280 wildlife species were intercepted in a courier parcel from Vietnam. Both acts broke serious laws: the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. KIA Customs officials have now beefed up profiling, surveillance, and intelligence-driven operations. Their motto? Stop crime before it walks or flies into Bengaluru’s bustling airport. The city’s gateway is now a hotbed of thrilling action, turning the tide against smuggling on all fronts!