A Russian national was arrested in India’s Himachal Pradesh state on Monday while allegedly carrying over 1 kg of hashish during a bus journey. Police said the confiscated cannabis is worth an estimated $4,000 on the international market.
According to police, the 38-year-old Russian national was travelling to New Delhi from the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh. He has been identified as Ignatiev Viacheslav.
“We were carrying out random searches of the tourist buses near Kullu district. While checking one such bus, around 1.26kg hashish (cannabis) was recovered from a man travelling from Himachal to New Delhi,” said Gaurav Singh, Superintendent of Police, Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh.
An Initial investigation revealed that he was smuggling the hashish to Delhi to sell it and earn huge amounts, Singh said, adding that further investigation is underway.
The Indian cities of New Delhi and Mumbai currently feature among the top 10 cities with the highest consumption of cannabis, according to a recent survey.
New Delhi is the third-largest consumer of cannabis in the world, whereas Mumbai, known as the financial capital of the country, is ranked in sixth place, according to the ABCD 2018 Cannabis Price Index report.