In a joint operation with Gujarat’s Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) caught a Pakistani boat with 10 crew members carrying arms, ammunition and 40 kg of narcotics worth ₹300 crore off the Gujarat coast, in the early hours of Monday.
A joint team of the ATS and the ICG acted, based on specific inputs shared by the ATS, after which the Coast Guard deployed its fast patrol ship ‘ICGS Arinjay’ for patrolling in the area close to the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL), on the intervening night of December 25 and 26.
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In a press release, the ICG said that in the early hours of the day, the Pakistani fishing boat ‘Al Soheli’ was observed moving suspiciously in the Indian waters and on being challenged by the ICG ship, the boat started evasive manoeuvring and did not stop even after warning shots were fired.
The Coast Guard eventually managed to intercept and stop the boat and subsequently the ICG guards embarked on the boat for inspection.
The crew members and boat are being brought to Okha port in Gujarat for further investigation.
In the last 18 months, this was the seventh joint operation by the ICG and the Gujarat ATS, and the first recovery of arms and ammunition, along with drugs.
A total of 346 kg of heroin worth ₹1,930 crore has been seized and 44 Pakistani and seven Iranian crew have been apprehended in the last 18 months.
