It was carrying over 30 kg of heroin worth over ₹150 crore in the international market.
In a joint operation, the Indian Coast Guard and the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Gujarat Police intercepted an Iranian boat carrying 30 kg of heroin worth over Rs 150 crore in the international market off the Gujarat coast.
When the fishing boat entered Indian waters, it was carrying seven crew, after which it was intercepted and apprehended by Indian agencies based on intelligence inputs.
According to sources, the boat seized during the operation carried out late on Saturday had an estimated 30 to 50 kg of banned material in the international market, worth around Rs 150 to 250 crore, but the exact quantity of the drug was once near the boat. The ship would be traced after it was anchored and searched at the port of K.
The crew, all Iranian nationals, have been captured and are being taken to the port of Gujarat for further investigation.
ATS DIG Himanshu Shukla said, “We had received credible information from our intelligence sources about the delivery at sea amid a major drug contraband.”
“On an intelligence based joint act, @IndianCoastGuard along with ATS #Gujarat intercepted #Iranian boat in #Indian waters with 07 crew carrying #drugs. The boat has been brought to the nearest port for further rummaging and investigation,” a defense PRO from Gujarat said on its official Twitter handle.
Over the years, the Gujarat coast has become the preferred route for smuggling drugs from Pakistan or Iran.
In April this year, eight Pakistani nationals People aboard a boat with heroin worth around Rs 150 crore were caught off the Gujarat coast in the Arabian Sea.
In January last year, five Pakistani nationals aboard a fishing boat were caught in the middle of the sea off the Gujarat coast when they were allegedly trying to smuggle drugs worth Rs 175 crore into the state.
35 packets of heroin, each weighing 1 kg, were seized from five men near Jakhau beach in Kutch district.
Similarly in July 2017, in one of the biggest drug haul, an Indian Coast Guard ship seized 1,500 kg of heroin worth around ₹3,500 crore from a merchant ship off the Gujarat coast.
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