Man arrested for cultivating California marijuana in Greater Noida penthouse

A 46-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly cultivating California marijuana inside his rented penthouse in Greater Noida’s Beta 2 locality, said police, adding that the suspect started the cultivation of the contraband after his restaurant business folded. He procured high quality seeds worth ₹5.5 lakh from a website and sourced his customers on the dark web, they said.

The suspect has been identified as Rahul Chaudhary, 46, who hails from Meerut and resides in Parsvnath Panorama society near P3 roundabout in Beta 2, Greater Noida. Police said Chaudhary is a postgraduate in English and earlier used to run a restaurant in Jagat Farms, Greater Noida.

“On Tuesday morning, police received information that a man was about to sell 10 grams of marijuana to a customer near P3 roundabout. Acting on the tip-off, a police team rushed to the spot and nabbed the man, who was later identified as Chaudhary,” said a police officer attached to the investigation, asking not to be named.

When police grilled Chaudhary, he allegedly admitted to cultivating the contraband at his home.

Police reached his home and found that he had all the setup in place for the cultivation of California marijuana. “2.070 kilograms of marijuana, 163.4 grams of OG (seeds of marijuana), various chemicals, fertilizers and equipment used in cultivation were recovered from his possession,” said Ashok Kumar, additional deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida, adding that Chaudhary used to turn on the air conditioner to maintain the temperature between 24 to 26 degrees Celsius, which is needed for cultivating weed.

“California marijuana sells for about ₹2,000-5,000 per gram, whereas Indian marijuana sells for about ₹15,000-20,000 per kilogram,” said the officer quoted above.

Investigation revealed that Chaudhary was involved in the cultivation of California marijuana from June 2024. “A single seed is priced ₹648 (7.69 dollars). In the first batch, he ordered seeds for ₹5.5 lakh, and after raising the crop and making a profit, a few days ago, he ordered a second batch of seeds. We do not know the value of this deal,” said the officer.

Police said 80 flowerpots of marijuana were recovered from his home. Police estimate the total cost of the illegal drugs and equipment to be more than ₹50 lakh.

To grow the plants, in a sunlight ecosystem, he also ordered spectrum lights from social media platforms, which were also recovered by police. “He used to pay the website through online transactions and got customers on the dark web,” said Kumar.

A second officer said, “As he was involved in consuming marijuana for the past three years, he was well informed on how to contact dealers and how customers scored for drugs.”

Police booked the suspect under sections 8 and 25 (contravention in relation to cannabis plant and cannabis) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) at Beta 2 police station on Tuesday.

Lost restaurant business during Covid

Police said after losing his restaurant business during the second wave of Covid-19 in 2021, Chaudhary went into depression and started consuming marijuana. This gave him the idea of cultivating the drug at home and he started small initially. When that turned out profitable, he moved into a penthouse to expand his cultivation, they said.

Chaudhary moved to Greater Noida in 2000 with his mother, wife, daughter and son, said ADCP Kumar.

“The relation between Chaudhary and his wife soured a few years ago and in June 2024, he separated from his wife and took up a three plus one penthouse on the 10th floor of Parsvnath Panorama society for a monthly rent of ₹35,000, plus ₹8,000 maintenance,” said the second officer.

“He revealed that while consuming marijuana, he got the idea to cultivate marijuana,” said the officer, adding that initially, he cultivated three to four flowerpots at his Supertech Czar home.

“When he succeeded, he decided to earn money and move into a large-scale business. He searched the internet to learn the process of cultivating marijuana, and after moving to the penthouse, he expanded the business. Customers used to contact him via dark web, and he always dealt in cash,” said the officer.

“He informed his family members that he was into the organic farming business, and the same occupation was mentioned in the rent agreement as well,” the officer said.

Police were informed that two months’ rent remains unpaid and on Monday, the power department also reached his home to snap supply over the non-payment of ₹31,000 bill.