Pak boat with Rs 600-cr narcotics seized, 6 held

A Pakistani boat carrying narcotic substance worth Rs 600 crore was seized by the Indian Coast Guard today after two days of relentless search of nearly 200 nautical miles along the International Maritime Boundary Line off the Gujarat coast, a top official said.

“Six crew members of the boat were taken into custody… A joint team comprising intelligence agencies will interrogate them,” Additional Director General of the Coast Guard VSR Murthy said.

On May 19, the Coast Guard had received inputs from the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) about a Pakistani ship trying to enter Indian waters. A day later, the maritime security agency received similar inputs from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, following which the search operation was intensified.

“The Coast Guard deployed Aranjay, a fast patrol vessel, two interceptor boats and an aircraft to scan the sea,” Murthy said.

Early today, the Coast Guard intercepted ‘Al-Madina’, a Pakistani fishing trawler, eight nautical miles inside Indian waters off the Jakhau coast. “The suspect boat did evasive manoeuvres to avoid getting apprehended. However, they were apprehended despite the rough sea conditions,” Murthy said.

When cornered, the crew on the boat threw the bags containing the suspicious material in water before being taken into custody, the Coast Guard said, adding that seven bags were retrieved from the water.

“On rummaging the boat, 194 packets of suspicious substance, suspected to be narcotics, have been recovered, which will be further verified by appropriate agencies through chemical analysis,” the Coast Guard said.

This is the second incidence this year when such a large quantity of heroin from the coast of Gujarat has been seized. In March, the ICG, in a joint operation with the ATS, had seized 100-kg heroin. — PTI

‘Threw bags in water’

The Coast Guard intercepted ‘Al-Madina’, a Pakistani fishing trawler, eight nautical miles inside Indian waters off the Jakhau coast
When cornered, the crew on the boat threw suspicious bags in water before being taken into custody
“On rummaging the boat, 194 packets of suspicious substance, suspected to be narcotics, have been recovered,” the Coast Guard said