Boat carrying heroin worth Rs. 300 crore apprehended near Gujarat
What's the story
The Indian Coast Guard along with the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad apprehended a fishing boat, carrying eight Pakistani nationals and 30 kg of heroin, near Kutch district's Jakhau coast on Thursday, an official statement said.
On Tuesday, input was received regarding suspected narcotics trafficking by a Pakistani boat off the Indo-Pak notional international maritime boundary line, the statement issued by the Indian Coast Guard said.
Further details
Boat was sighted inside Indian waters on Wednesday night
"On receipt of the input, a coordinated operation was launched swiftly by the ICG in association with ATS of Gujarat," it said.
The suspected Pakistani boat was sighted inside Indian waters on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, and it was intercepted by the ICG.
About 30 kg of heroin, approximately Rs. 300 crore in value, was recovered from the boat, it said.
Information
Narcotics worth approximately Rs. 5,200 crore seized in last one-year
The past one year has proved to be a big setback for drug traffickers as the ICG has successfully seized more than 1.6 tonnes of narcotics worth approximately Rs. 5,200 crore, it noted.
Earlier during the day, the ICG had tweeted that a Pakistani Fishing Boat was apprehended in a joint operation with ATS Gujarat with eight Pakistani nationals & 30 kg of heroin.
Twitter Post
Here is the tweet
@IndiaCoastGuard in a joint operation with ATS Gujarat apprehended #Pakistani boat PFB NUH with 08 Pak nationals 30 Kg of heroin off Jakhau #Guajrat close to IMBL in Indian waters today. @drajaykumar_ias @SpokespersonMoD
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) April 15, 2021
Quote
Consignment was destined for landing on a Gujarat shore
"Preliminary investigation revealed that the consignment being smuggled was destined for landing on a Gujarat shore. The boat and its eight-member Pakistani crew are being escorted to Jakhau for further rummaging and joint investigation," the statement mentioned.
Similar cases
Five Pakistani nationals were arrested last year in January
In January 2020, ATS had arrested five Pakistani nationals and seized 35 kg of heroin from them.
JamJam, the boat of the Pakistanis was seen on the International maritime board at Jakhau in Kutch.
The Pakistani nationals were identified as Anees Isa Bhatti (30), Ismail Mohammed Kachchi (50), Ashhraf Usman Kutchhi (42), Kareem Abdulla Kutchhi (37), and Abubaqar Ashraf Sumra (55).