NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, MARCH 12
A Pakistani boat with six people onboard carrying 80 kg of drugs worth Rs 480 crore was intercepted about 350 kms from Gujarat’s Porbandar coast in Arabian Sea during an joint operation on the intervening night of March 11 and 12.
All the six people, reportedly Pakistani nationals, onboard have been arrested.
The joint operation was carried by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
The ICG said on specific intelligence input from agencies, they strategically positioned its ships in Arabian Sea on Monday, March 11.
“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 at the location and positively identified the boat which was moving suspiciously in dark,” the Coast Guard further said.
On being challenged by the Coast Guard ships, the boat started evasive manoeuvring, but was chased and forced to stop, the Coast Guard said.
In a statement, NCB said the boat was apprehended in a sea-air coordinated operation involving ICG ships and Dornier Aircraft.
“The operation exhibited well-coordinated efforts between ICG, NCB, and ATS Gujrat,” the NCB said.
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 last three years, amounting to 517 kg Narcotics worth Rs 3,135 crores,” it added.
