NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD, APR 15
along with the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) apprehended a fishing boat, carrying eight Pakistani nationals and 30 kg heroin worth around Rs 300 crore, near Jakhau coast of Kutch district on Thursday morning, an official statement said.
“The ICG in a joint operation with ATS Gujarat apprehended Pakistani boat PFB (Pakistani Fishing Boat) NUH with 08 Pak nationals & 30 Kg of heroin off Jakhau #Guajrat close to IMBL (international maritime boundary line) in Indian waters today (sic),” the ICG said on Twitter.
Based on a specific tip-off, a joint team of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Indian Coast Guard caught the boat, in an operation carried out near the Jakhau port of Kutch district, the ATS said in a release.
The spot is located close to the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) separating India and Pakistan in the sea, the ATS said in the release.
The tip-off about the drug consignment on the Pakistani boat was shared with the agencies by the Special Operations Group of Devbhumi-Dwarka district police and a senior ATS official, the release said.
The joint team of the ATS and the Coast Guard apprehended eight Pakistani men from the boat and seized 30 kg of heroin, a psychotropic drug, from their possession. The value of the seized drug is around Rs 300 crore in the international market, said ATS in the statement.
Recently on March 18, ICG had apprehended SLB Ravihansi with about 300 Kg of Heroin, 05 AK-47 Rifles and 1000 rounds of ammunition off Lakshadweep Island, which was suspected to have originated from Makran coast. Prior to this, ICG had successfully apprehended SLB Akarsha Duwa in March 2021 which admitted of carrying 200 Kg high grade Heroin and 60 Kg Hashish and jettisoning it at sea on sighting of ICG ships on patrol. In a similar operation in November 2020, ICG had apprehended Sri Lankan boat Shenaya Duwa off Kanyakumari, carrying 120 Kgs narcotics worth approximately Rs. 1000 crore and five weapons.
The past one year has proved to be a big setback for drug traffickers as ICG has successfully seized more than 1.6 tons of narcotics worth approximately Rs. 5,200 crore. The total drug haul done by ICG since inception amounts to Rs. 11,252 crore.
