In a major crackdown on the smuggling of narcotics, the Indian Coast Guard announced on Sunday that they had seized 86kg of narcotics worth approximately Rs. 600 crores from a Pakistani boat off the Gujarat coast. Alongside the seizure, the maritime agency said 14 Pakistani crew on board the vessel was also apprehended during the joint operation.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Indian Coast Guard provided details of the overnight sea-air coordinated joint operation, conducted in collaboration with the Gujarat Anti-terrorism Squad and Narcotics Control Bureau. The maritime agency stated, “In a breathtaking overnight operation, Indian Coast Guard undertook an intelligence-based anti-narcotics operation at sea on 28 Apr 24. Approx 86 kg of narcotics worth Rs 600 crore has been apprehended along with 14 crew from the Pakistani boat.”
It added. the operation followed a previous interception last month, which resulted in the seizure of 80 kgs of drugs. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard did not specify the narcotic substances recovered from the Pakistani boat. They mentioned that the ICG ship Rajratan was utilized to identify the suspect boat with the assistance of NCB and ATS officials 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. The ship’s specialist team embarked on the suspect boat and, after thorough checks, confirmed the presence of a sizable amount of narcotics,” the Coast Guard reported.
It is pertinent to note that all 14 Pakistani crew members apprehended are being brought to Porbandar for further investigations. Meanwhile, DGP Gujarat Vikas Sahay speaking about the incident said, "That consignment was not for India but Sri Lanka. I am happy and proud that such has been the network of ATS that even the receiver is not an Indian, and only if our waters are being used, we get the exact information... 14 people were present on the Pakistani fishing boat, Al-Raza, all are resident of Balochistan, Pakistan. After detaining them, a search and seizure of the Al-Raza boat were conducted as per the procedure in which we recovered 78 packets weighing around 86 kg and worth Rs 602 crore in the international market."
(With inputs from PTI)
READ MORE | Indian Coast Guard rescues Sri Lankan national with critical heart condition
READ MORE | Gujarat: Six Pakistanis with drugs worth Rs 480 crores nabbed in sea-air coordinated operation
