Security forces apprehended a Pakistani fishing boat in Indian waters carrying 77 kilograms of heroin worth about Rs 400 crore, officials said on Monday.
The operation was conducted by the Indian Coast Guard and the Anti-Terrorism Squad, Gujarat. The boat, Al-Huseini, had six crew members, who have been arrested, reported PTI.
The boat has been taken to Jakhau in Gujarat’s Kutch district for further investigation.
In a statement, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad said that the boat was trying to establish contact using very high frequency (VHF) radio channel and code words, “Hari-1” and “Hari-2”, to deliver the drugs.
The statement said that the joint operation was carried out after the anti-terrorism squad received a tip-off that the boat would reach around 35 nautical miles off the Jakhau coast.
The crew members said that the heroin was supplied by two Pakistani smugglers, who have been identified as Haji Hasan and Haji Hasam, according to the statement. The drugs were to be delivered to people associated with the Punjab underworld, it claimed.
The Gujarat Defence Ministry said that the Indian Coast Guard personnel saw the boat “suspiciously moving” in the waters and attempted to stop it after which the crew members tried to flee. The boat, however, was outmaneuvered and the crew members were forced to surrender, the ministry added.
The incident came nearly three months after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had seized close to three tonnes of heroin worth Rs 21,000 crore at Gujarat’s Mundra port. On October 6, the National Investigation Agency took over the investigation into the case, and booked the accused persons under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
In April as well, the Coast Guard and the Gujarat had apprehended a boat with Pakistanis from Indian waters near the Jakhau coast. The boat was carrying 30 kilograms of heroin worth about Rs 150 crore, according to PTI.
In November, the ATS had seized a heroin consignment worth about Rs 600 crore from an under-construction house in Morbi district of Gujarat. According to the ATS, the consignment was sent by Pakistani drug dealers to their Indian counterparts from the Arabian Sea.
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