Drugs worth Rs 600 crore seized off Gujarat coast; 14 Pakistani nationals held

THE Indian Coast Guard (ICG) seized 86 kg of drugs worth Rs 600 crore from a Pakistani boat off the Gujarat coast on Sunday. As many as 14 Pakistani nationals onboard the boat were arrested, said the maritime security agency. 

The operation in the Arabian Sea was carried out in coordination with the Gujarat Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). 

This was the 11th such successful joint operation in the past three years involving the Coast Guard and the ATS, the ICG said in a release. 

Coast Guard ships and aircraft were deployed for the operation. ICG ship Rajratan was used to identify the suspect boat with the help of NCB and ATS officials on board, it said. 

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 said.

The boat along with its 14-member crew was apprehended and was being brought to Porbandar for further investigations.

A total of 78 packets weighing 86 kg were recovered from the Pakistani fishing boat, Gujarat Director General of Police Vikas Sahay said.

The preliminary investigation revealed that the packets contained heroin, a powerful recreational opioid, he said. 

Last month, the Coast Guard, NCB and ATS had caught a boat carrying methamphetamine, a highly addictive psycho-stimulant drug, worth over Rs 400 crore and its six Pakistani crew members off the Porbandar coast in Gujarat, officials had said.