Gujarat’s Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) in a mid-sea joint operation with Indian Coast Guard (ICG) caught a Pakistani boat and recovered 50 kg heroin worth ₹350 crore in international market value and apprehended six crew members, an official said on Saturday, October 8, 2022.
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As per the details, the Indian Coast Guard and ATS teams intercepted Pakistani boat Al Sakar with 6 crew members aboard and seized 50 kg of heroin close to International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), off the Gujarat coast.
The agencies acted based on inputs of drug trafficking mid-sea as the contraband was supposed to be delivered.
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The Indian Coast Guard and ATS teams intercepted Pakistani boat Al Sakar with 6 crew members aboard and seized 50 kg of heroin close to International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), off the Gujarat coast. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
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“There was a specific input our team had received about the cargo being loaded from Karachi in Pakistan and was destined for delivery in Gujarat,” Gujarat DGP Ashish Bhatia told the media persons while briefing about the seizure.
“As per the input, the shipment was transported by Mohd Kadar, a drug baron based in Pakistan. The transaction was going to take place on the high seas,” he added.
Six persons onboard the boat, who are suspected to be Pakistani nationals, have been apprehended and the boat is being brought to Jakhao port in Kutch for further investigation.
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Earlier in September this year, in a similar joint operation, the ATS and ICG officials had caught six Pakistani nationals and recovered 40 kg narcotics valued at about ₹200 crore from their possession.
In June, nine Pakistani nationals were arrested by the Gujarat ATS, in a joint operation with the Coast Guard, while trying to smuggle heroin worth ₹280 crore via sea route.
Since Gujarat coast has become a preferred route for drug smuggling, the State and federal agencies have seized drug cargos upon landing at the ports or in mid-sea at regular intervals.
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As a result of the proper coordination between the agencies, the crackdown on the smuggling have resulted into huge seizures in mid-sea operations. This is the sixth such joint operation by the ICG and the Gujarat ATS in the last one year.
Earlier in February this year, a joint operation conducted by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Indian Navy led to the seizure of 750kg drugs valued at ₹2,000 crore from a ship off the Gujarat coast.
The ATS with various federal agencies have caught 28 Pakistani nationals and made recovery of around around 1,300 kg heroin worth ₹6,350 crore in eight case of narcotics smuggling into India using the sea route.