Indian officials seize Pakistani boat carrying 40 kg heroin worth $25 million

A Pakistani boat carrying 40 kilograms of heroin worth Rs 2 billion ($25 million approx.) was apprehended in the Arabian Sea off the western Gujarat coast during a joint operation by the Indian Coast Guard and the state's Anti-Terrorist Squad.

Six crew members belonging to Pakistan have been arrested and the boat, which was six nautical miles inside the Indian waters, was seized.

“The fishing boat carrying drugs was intercepted mid-sea by a joint team of the Coast Guard and ATS near Jakhau harbour in Kutch district,” the official said, according to PTI news agency.

The ATS and Coast Guard officials along with the seized boat are expected to reach the Jakhau coast later in the day.

The enforcement officials said the drugs was intended for Punjab after delivering them onthe Gujarat coast.

“The heroin was meant to be transported to Punjab by road after being offloaded on the Gujarat coast. Based on a specific tip-off, we intercepted the boat which left from Pakistan, and caught six Pakistani nationals with 40 kg of heroin,” the official added.

Of late, the Gujarat coast has emerged as the preferred route to smuggle the contrabands. The state ATS and the Indian Coast Guard had foiled similar attempts of drug smuggling in the past and also caught foreign nationals with huge quantities of narcotics which they planned to smuggle into India.

In October last year, officials seized a consignment of 2,988 kg of heroin from Gujarat’s Mundra port, which was estimated to be Rs 210 billion, making it one of the biggest drug hauls near the Gujarat coast.

(With inputs from agencies)

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