Drugs worth Rs 2,000 cr seized off Gujarat coast

The narcotics seized included 3,089 kg of charas, 158 kg of methamphetamine and 25 kg of morphine.

In the biggest offshore seizure of narcotics in the country, the Indian Navy, in coordination with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Gujarat police, apprehended a suspicious vessel carrying around 3,300 kg of contraband off the Gujarat coast and arrested five foreigners.

The dhow is suspected to have sailed from Chabahar Port in Iran.

The narcotics seized included 3,089 kg of charas, 158 kg of methamphetamine and 25 kg of morphine. The cache is estimated to be worth anything between Rs 1,300 and Rs 2,000 crores in the international market, said NCB director-general S.N. Pradhan. The packets bore the stamp of “Ras Awad Goods Co, produce of Pakistan”, the NCB said.

Union home minister Amit Shah called the joint operation by the Navy, NCB and the Gujarat police a “historic success” and a testament to the Modi government’s “unwavering commitment to making our nation drug-free”.

The unregistered fishing boat was intercepted on Tuesday morning in the Arabian Sea from a point about 60 nautical miles from the Indian coast and along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).