Pak boat with Rs 480 cr drugs seized off Gujarat coast

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 12

In an overnight operation, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), based on intelligence inputs, apprehended a Pakistani boat with six crew members and narcotics worth Rs 480 crore on board.

The boat was apprehended about 350 km from Porbandar in the Arabian Sea, after a coordinated operation involving ICG ships and Dornier aircraft. The Narcotics Control Bureau and Anti-Terrorism Squad of Guajrat were part of the joint operation.

The Indian Coast Guard, on specific intelligence input from agencies, strategically positioned its ships in the Arabian Sea on Monday. ICG also tasked its Dornier aircraft to scan and locate the boat in likely areas. After an exhaustive search in area, the ICG ships, with teams of NCB and ATS Gujarat, arrived on location and positively identified the boat, which was moving suspiciously in the dark. On being challenged, the boat started evasive manoeuvring, but was deftly chased and forced to stop. A team landed on board and an extensive search was carried out, which revealed a cache of 80-kg drugs worth Rs 480 crore.

The boat along with crew has been apprehended and is being brought to Porbandar for further investigation. This is the tenth apprehension by ICG, jointly with ATS Gujarat and NCB, in the last three years, amounting to 517-kg narcotics worth Rs 3,135 crore.

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