Lucknow youth held for importing marijuana from US

LUCKNOW: Joint units of Delhi and Lucknow Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested a Lucknow youth from Gomtinagar on Sunday night. The 25-year-old was arrested for importing 2.7kg marijuana from the United States via courier.
Cherish Gidwani, an IT engineering graduate and the son of an Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer, had been importing marijuana (cannabis) from the United States for over one-and-a-half years.This was revealed after his arrest.
NCB sleuths said that on the basis of specific inputs, they had intercepted a parcel at Delhi airport on August 31. The parcel was found containing 2.7kg premium quality marijuana imported from the United States.
“Marijuana was concealed in an air compressor machine which was delivered via courier,” said an NCB sleuth.
NCB further said that a detailed investigation was carried to trace the consignee who was found to be in Lucknow. The team of Lucknow NCB was also alerted.
“Cherish admitted that he had been importing such parcels on a regular basis for the past one-and-a-half years for himself and also for further distribution among his friends,” an NCB official said.
The narcotics were ordered from the US through Instagram or Wickr, while payment for the consignment was done through Bitcoins.
Gidwani disclosed that he also used to get ‘charas’ and marijuana from Delhi and Bangalore-based suppliers.
NCB zonal director Prashant Srivastava said that further investigation of backward and forward linkages of Gidwani were under way.
“All contacts of the youth on social media networks are being scanned,” he said.
NCB sources said that Cherish had been a topper throughout his academic career and was currently enrolled in a government engineering college in Lucknow.
This is not the first case of a Lucknow youth using the web to trade and deal in narcotics and drugs.
In February, Dipu Singh was arrested by NCB for selling contraband drugs via the ‘dark web’ and taking money in crypto currency.