Ex-Customs officer held for running ₹27-crore international drug racket

The seized drug is a rare and potent variety of marijuana with THC content of 30–40%, almost ten times stronger than regular weed, police said

The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested a 35-year-old man, a dismissed officer of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), for allegedly running an international drug cartel trafficking high-grade hydroponic marijuana. Police said the accused smuggled the drug from Thailand to India via Dubai.

Officers said they also recovered ₹44.42 lakh in cash (File photo)

The accused, identified as Rohit Kumar Sharma, was caught with 21.5 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana worth ₹27.24 crore, as per police estimates. Officers said they also recovered ₹44.42 lakh in cash, suspected to be drug proceeds, along with a Mahindra XUV700.

“Sharma used his insider knowledge and contacts in the customs department to clear drug consignments coming from Thailand via low-footfall airports such as Guwahati. He had set up a well-organised supply chain connecting Thailand, Dubai, and India,” said DCP (Crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav.

According to police, a specific tip-off about a drug delivery between October 13 and 14 led a team to lay a trap near Janak Cinema in west Delhi. Sharma, who arrived to deliver a large consignment, was apprehended, and subsequent searches led to the recovery of the contraband.

The seized drug is a rare and potent variety of marijuana with THC content of 30–40%, almost ten times stronger than regular weed, said Yadav. Police added that it is popular in “high-end party circles” and often consumed through bongs or vaporizers for a stronger effect.

Investigators said Sharma, a BTech graduate in electronics, joined the Central Excise Department in 2015. During his posting at Kannur airport in Kerala, he was arrested in 2019 in a three-kilogram gold smuggling case and later booked by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) under the NDPS Act. He was dismissed from service in 2023 following a departmental inquiry but continued to misuse his contacts while posing as a government official.

After losing his job, Sharma reportedly shifted to Dubai, where he met an associate named Abhishek, a native of Bihar. The two allegedly conspired to import hydroponic marijuana from Thailand to India. “The contraband was disguised as food items to evade scanners and transported to Delhi through courier channels. Once the consignments reached India, Sharma supplied them to party organisers and dealers in Delhi-NCR and other metros,” an officer said.

Police added that the drug proceeds were laundered through hawala and cryptocurrency channels routed to Dubai. The racket, they said, was operated by an international syndicate based in Dubai and Thailand, with consignments shipped from Bangkok to smaller Indian airports to avoid strict surveillance.

“The investigation has revealed that Sharma played a crucial role in facilitating smooth clearance of drug mules using his departmental links,” DCP Yadav added.