{
  "id": 5274373,
  "title": "Malaysian arrested in Chennai over 3.45kg of hydroponic cannabis",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/malaysian-arrested-in-chennai-over-3-45kg-of-hydroponic-cannabis-5274373",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-03T06:54:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/09/03/malaysian-arrested-in-chennai-over-3-45kg-of-hydroponic-cannabis"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A 62-year-old Malaysian man was arrested at Chennai International Airport on Aug 31 for allegedly attempting to smuggle 3.45kg of high-grade hydroponic cannabis into India. The drugs were discovered when customs officers intercepted the passenger arriving from Kuala Lumpur and found four transparent, airtight packages concealed beneath a false bottom in his suitcase. The packages contained 3,452g of dried greenish-brown cannabis plants, which were later confiscated under India's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985. The suspect was detained and remanded to judicial custody as investigators probe potential connections to larger smuggling networks. This marks the second case of a Malaysian national accused of hydroponic cannabis smuggling into Chennai this month; on Aug 8, a 54-year-old Malaysian from Perak was arrested for carrying 4.03kg of the drug on a flight from Bangkok.",
  "summary": "The 62-year-old man was caught attempting to enter India with the drugs concealed beneath a false bottom in his luggage.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "62-year-old Malaysian held in Chennai with 3.45kg hydroponic cannabis",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/62-year-old-malaysian-held-in-chennai-with-3-45kg-hydroponic-cannabis",
        "published": "2026-09-03T05:14:46.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Vibes",
        "title": "Second Malaysian held in Chennai in one month with RM520k cannabis haul",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/second-malaysian-held-in-chennai-in-one-month-with-rm520k-cannabis",
        "published": "2026-09-03T06:39:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Malaysian arrested in Chennai over 3.45kg of hydroponic cannabis",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/malaysian-arrested-in-chennai-over-3-45kg-of-hydroponic-cannabis",
        "published": "2026-09-03T06:54:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}