Ahmedabad/New Delhi:
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has seized 173 kg of narcotics from an Indian fishing boat and arrested two crew members on board the vessel off the coast of Gujarat, an official said on Monday.
The ICG and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) apprehended the fishing boat during a joint operation on the high seas on Sunday afternoon, the Coast Guard said in a press release in Ahmedabad.
In back-to-back anti-narco operations, the Indian Coast Guard vessel along with ATS Gujarat apprehended an Indian fishing boat carrying 173 kg of narcotics and two perpetrators at sea. Further investigations are underway. The operation follows the seizure of a Pakistani fishing boat on… pic.twitter.com/4fG4LvJTI0
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2024
The seizure comes a day after the ICG, ATS and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in a joint operation recovered heroin worth Rs 600 crore from a Pakistani boat with 14 crew members.
According to official sources, a total of 173 kg of hashish (extracted from cannabis) was captured along with two Indians as part of a joint operation.
“Based on specific and credible information from the ATS, the ICG strategically deployed its ships and aircraft to ensure that the boat does not evade sea-air coordinated surveillance,” the statement said.
The boat was intercepted after proper identification and investigations confirmed that the two suspects were involved in smuggling about 173kg of drugs, it said.
“This operation is the twelfth arrest of the ICG in the last three years and a testimony to the coordination and success of the joint efforts of the ICG and ATS Gujarat for an appropriate response to maritime drug trafficking,” the report said.
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