The operation was carried on March 11-12 and the officials seized drugs worth Rs 480 crore. (Image: X/ Indian Coast Guard)
Based on a tip-off, the Indian Coast Guard, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) conducted a joint operation in the Arabian Sea near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL)
A boat carrying 60 packets of drugs was seized and six Pakistani crew members onboard the vessel were apprehended off Gujarat’s Porbandar in a multi-agency operation on Tuesday, an official said. The operation was carried on March 11-12 and the officials seized drugs worth Rs 480 crore.
Based on a tip-off, the Indian Coast Guard, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) conducted a joint operation in the Arabian Sea near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), quoted news agency, PTI as saying Sunil Joshi, superintendent of police, ATS.
“A vessel carrying nearly 60 packets of contraband was seized around 180 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast. The boat with six Pakistani crew members is now being brought in for further investigation,” he said.
The boat is being brought to the shore and the type and value of the drug are yet to be determined, he said. Second Maritime Seizure by NCB and ATS Gujarat in three weeks, the earlier one being the largest maritime seizure of drugs in the country.
Meanwhile, the Customs department on Monday said that its officials have seized over Rs 100 crore worth of hashish and ganja from this district. Officers of Tiruchirappalli Customs Preventive Commissionerate made the seizure from a shed located in a prawn farm in Mimisal village.
A post on the official ‘X’ handle of Tiruchirappalli Customs (Preventive) Zone said the seizure was made on the basis of information. On receiving information that huge quantities of narcotic substances like hashish and ganja were stored in a shed located in the prawn farm “for being smuggled out of India to Srilanka,” officials rushed to the spot, it said.
“The shed was thoroughly examined and 48 bags containing contrabands like Hashish and ganja were recovered. As there was no power supply in the shed, the contraband was taken to the nearby Customs office. After testing it was found that the goods were Narcotic Drugs viz., 100 kg of Hashish valued at Rs 110 crore and 876 kg of dry Ganja, valued at Rs 1.05 crore,” it added.
Recently, 99 kg of hashish, valued around Rs 108 crore, was seized from near Mandapam in the state.
(with inputs from agencies)
