In a major success, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) apprehended a huge consignment of over 5 tonnes of drugs from a fishing boat in the Andaman waters, said defence officials. The defence officials stated that this is likely to be the biggest-ever drug haul by the Indian Coast Guard ever.
Defence officials said, "Indian Coast Guard has apprehended a huge consignment of around five tonnes of drugs from a fishing boat in the Andaman waters. This is likely to be the biggest ever drug haul by the Indian Coast Guard ever."
Coordinated air and sea op led to seizure
On November 23, the pilot of an ICG's Dornier aircraft noticed a suspicious movement of a fishing trawler near Barren Island while on routine patrolling, the Defence officials said. The ICG initiated a coordinated air and sea operation against the Myanmarese fishing trawler, identified as "Soe Wai Yan Htoo." The Coast Guard seized approx. 6,000 kg of Methamphetamine, marking the largest maritime seizure in India’s domain. The drugs were found packed in around 3,000 packets of 2 kg each, which are worth several crores of rupees in the international market.
"The trawler was warned and asked to lower its speed and in the meantime, the pilot alerted the Andaman and Nicobar Command. Immediately, our nearby fast patrolling vessels rushed towards Barren Island and towed the fishing trawler to Port Blair on November 24 for further investigation," the official said.
Six Myanmarese nationals arrested
The officials further added that they also apprehended six Myanmarese nationals. "We have arrested six Myanmarese nationals from the fishing trawler and it is believed that the Methamphetamine was meant for India and its neighbouring countries. We have informed the Andaman and Nicobar Police for joint interrogation," the defence official said.
Notably, this is not the first such seizure of the banned contraband in Indian waters in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In 2019 and 2022, similar drugs were seized from foreign vessels while they tried to enter Indian waters.
(With inputs from agencies)
