Indian Coast Guard seizes drugs worth Rs 600 crore from Pak boat off Guj coast

In a major operation, the Indian Coast Guard on Tuesday chased and seized a Pakistani fishing vessel carrying 200 kg heroin, valued at a whopping Rs 600 crore, to be delivered to an Indian recipient, an official said.

Acting on a tip off from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and other intelligence agencies, the ICG intercepted a Pakistani fishing boat, Al Madina, in the wee hours of Tuesday after a brief chase, despite having faced rough sea in the dark.. However, before the boat could cross the Indian waters, the ICG intercepted them and seized 200 kilograms of Heroin worth Rs 600 crore. The ICG officials have taken the Pakistani crew in their custody, seized the boat and are investigating the case.

According to sources, the intelligence agencies and the DRI had alerted the ICG on Monday afternoon, about a fishing boat carrying drugs would be passing through Gujarat. Accordingly, the ICG had swiftly diverted its ships to effect interception of the boat,” said Additional Director General Natarajan, Coast Guard Commander, Western Seaboard, Mumbai.

This is a second incident this year, when the ICG have seized a large quantity of heroin off the Gujarat coast. In a similar operation in the month of March, the ICG had recovered more than 100 kg worth of heroin in a joint operation carried out along with the Anti-Terrorist Squad, Gujarat.

A senior official said, considering the recent incidents of drug seizure off the Gujarat Coast, the ICG has maintained a close coordination with all the agencies for effective drug enforcement in the maritime domain of Gujarat.