Ahmedabad, October 8
The Coast Guard and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad have seized heroin worth Rs 350 crore from a Pakistani boat off the state coast and apprehended its six crew members, officials said on Saturday.
The ICG and ATS personnel seized the boat Al Sakar, which had 50kg heroin on board, in the Arabian Sea. The operation was conducted during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, they said.
The boat with six crew members on board was brought to the state’s Jakhau port for further investigation, they added.
A release issued by the ICG said the joint operation was carried out during the intervening night of October 7 and 8, when a Pakistani boat was observed moving suspiciously in Indian waters, five nautical miles inside notional International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and 40 nautical miles from Jakhau.
“On being challenged, the Pakistani boat started evasive-manoeuvring. Two fast interceptor class of ships – C-429 and C-454 – deployed by the ICG for patrolling in areas close to the IMBL, intercepted the Pakistani boat and forced it to stop,” it said.
Following a search of the boat, 50kg of narcotic was found concealed in five gunny bags. The market value of the seized drug is estimated to be Rs 350 crore, it said, adding that the boat was brought to Jakhau for further joint investigation by all agencies, along with the six crew members, who were apprehended.
This is the sixth such joint operation by the IGC and state ATS in the last one year and second such operation in less than a month when 40 kg drugs were seized from a Pakistani boat on September 14.
