AHMEDABAD:
The Indian Coast Guard, in a joint operation with the Gujarat ATS, seized 526 kilograms of methamphetamine and heroin valued at more than Rs 3,000 crore from an Iranian boat in the Arabian Sea near Lakshadweep. The contraband was supposed to land on the Tamil Nadu coast after taking delivery mid-sea, officials said on Wednesday.
Five Pakistani nationals operating the vessel were also detained in the operation that was carried out on September 25, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Based on intelligence inputs, Coast Guard assets carried out sea-air surveillance and tracked the suspicious dhow before launching a hot pursuit and boarding it west of Lakshadweep, it said.
The vessel, its crew and the seized drugs were brought to Mumbai under armed escort for joint interrogation and further legal proceedings, it said.
Addressing a press conference here, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Deputy Inspector General of Police Sunil Joshi said the operation was launched based on intelligence inputs about a consignment being smuggled from Iran into India via sea route. The suspected Iranian boat, identified as ‘Azad’, was intercepted on the evening of September 25, around 160 nautical miles northwest of Lakshadweep and about 490 nautical miles southwest of Mumbai, Joshi said.