Fadnavis further mentioned during the session that last month, the Mumbai Police seized 21kg of hydro ganja from two Indonesian nationals who had sourced it from Thailand (Representative image/AP)Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said in the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Assembly that hydroponic weed has become a challenge for authorities, especially after it has been legalised in Thailand and some states in the US. Several traffickers use the courier and postal system to smuggle hydroponic weed into India especially from these two countries.Hydroponic weed or hydro ganja is the more sophisticated version of ganja, which is more potent and expensive. It refers to cannabis cultivated using a hydroponic growing system, which is a method of growing plants without soil, using a nutrient-rich water solution instead.On most occasions, these are grown inside air-conditioned rooms.This technique allows for precise control over the plant’s environment, potentially leading to faster growth, larger yields, and more potent buds.An official said while generally regular ganja was cheaper and used by lower income groups, hydroponic weed is more expensive and given its potency, has become popular with the upper middle class and has seen high demand over the past few years.“This gained popularity especially during Covid when people started placing orders on the dark web and hydroponic weed was sent from other countries via parcels. While initially it was mainly sent from Canada, over a period, it was also sent from the US, where in some states, it is legal,” said an officer from a law enforcement agency.“Since 2022, the flow of hydroponic weed has increased as Thailand, where earlier use of weed was allowed for medical purposes, legalized it. As a result, a lot of hydroponic weed began being smuggled through the north east into India,” said the officer.The officer added that another factor that makes it difficult to control its spread is that it can be grown inside a room. “We have arrested several people in the city where they were growing it inside their house,” he said.Story continues below this adOne of the measures the law enforcement agencies have been using that was mentioned by Fadnavis was that notices have been issued to courier companies and post officials that if they find that their services are being used to deliver narcotics, they too will be held liable. They have been told to ensure they conduct checks to prevent narcotics being supplied using their network or else they would be named as an accused in the case.Fadnavis further mentioned during the session that last month, the Mumbai Police seized 21kg of hydro ganja from two Indonesian nationals who had sourced it from Thailand.Further, the police had managed to get custody of Navin Chichkar, a Navi Mumbai resident from Malaysia who was a major supplier of hydro ganja to India from US and Thailand.According to police, Chickhar got citizenship of Vanuatu country to evade action against him and had allegedly paid off courier and customs agents in Mumbai to allow hydro ganja to pass through, which would then be supplied to various parts of the country.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Mumbai Policeweed