Customs nabs woman posing as NIA officer with 11 kg narcotics

In a surveillance operation, officers at Indira Gandhi International Airport had uncovered a bizarre mix of deception, audacity and 11 kg of high-grade narcotics.

On the morning of November 8, officers of the Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) had been discreetly monitoring an Indian woman arriving from Bangkok. She had been flagged based on passenger profiling — a system that silently tracks behavioural and travel patterns to identify potential smugglers.

Nothing seemed unusual at first, until the woman disappeared into the airport washroom. When she emerged, she was no longer the same person.

Gone was her black jacket. In its place, she now wore a grey one — emblazoned with the National Emblem and the “National Investigation Agency (NIA)” written on the back. To the untrained eye, she looked every bit a government officer. But to the trained eyes of the Customs team watching her, the act only deepened the mystery.

She walked confidently through the terminal, bypassing scrutiny and headed toward the Green Channel, the exit lane meant for passengers with “nothing to declare”. But her performance was cut short. The officers moved in.

When intercepted, the woman introduced herself as an NIA officer on official duty. She even produced an identity card that bore the insignia and design of the elite counter-terror agency. But something about it didn’t add up.

Customs officers immediately called in a team from the NIA to verify her claim. Within moments, it was confirmed that neither she was an NIA officer, nor connected in any way to the agency.

Then came the search. Her baggage, marked with the same NIA emblem, was put through X-ray screening and that’s when the real story began to unravel. Suspicious shapes lit up the screen. A detailed examination followed. Inside the bags were 20 vacuum-sealed packets, neatly packed and concealed.

The contents — 11.35 kg of hydroponic weed, a potent, high-value form of cannabis cultivated using advanced techniques — one of the largest seizures of its kind in recent weeks.

For the Customs officials, the case read like a thriller script. A smuggler flying in from Thailand, changing disguises mid-transit, and using the name of India’s premier anti-terror agency to dodge the law.

The woman has been taken into custody, and further questioning is underway. Her motive — and the source of the drugs — remain under investigation.