Drugs worth Rs 600 Crores Seized from a Pakistani Vessel, 14 Crew Arrested
NEW DELHI, Apr 28: The Indian Coast Guard on Sunday intercepted a suspicious Pakistani boat that had nearly 86 kg of drugs worth ₹ 600 crore off the Porbandar coast in Gujarat.
Acting on intelligence, the Coast Guard along with the Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), launched a crackdown on the drug trafficking syndicate operating in the region.
Along with the drugs, 14 crew members from the Pakistani vessel were also detained.
“In a breath-taking overnight operation, the Indian Coast Guard undertook an intelligence-based anti-narcotics operation at sea. Approx 86 kg of narcotics worth ₹ 600 crore has been apprehended along with 14 crew from the Pakistani boat,” the Coast Guard said in a press release.
The agency deployed ships and aircraft on concurrent missions to ensure the efficiency of the operation. One of the key vessels involved in the operation was the Coast Guard ship Rajratan, which had officials from both the NCB and ATS on board.
Despite attempts by the suspected drug-laden boat to evade capture, the vigilant ship successfully identified and intercepted it. A specialized team from the ship conducted a thorough search, confirming the presence of drugs on-board.
“No amount of evasive manoeuvring tactics employed by the drug laden boat could save it from the swift and strong ICG ship Rajratan. Ship’s specialist team embarked the suspect boat and after thorough checks, confirmed the presence of the sizeable amount of narcotics,” Coast Guard said. The seized Pakistani boat, along with its crew, was being brought to Porbandar for further investigation, it said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
