Starlink, which says it offers coverage in international waters, has plans to launch in India.
Bangalore:
Indian police will request details from Elon Musk's Starlink, they said on Tuesday, in a bid to track down drug smugglers who used their satellite internet device to navigate deep seas and introduce $4.25 billion worth of meth into Indian waters for the first time .
In their largest such seizure, police in the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands outpost last week discovered more than 6,000 kg of meth in a boat from Myanmar carrying bags of suspected contraband, and arrested six Myanmar nationals.
But the incident has raised alarm bells as it is the first time Starlink's device has been used to navigate and reach Indian waters, Hargobinder S. Dhaliwal, a top police officer in the Andaman Islands who is handling the case, told Reuters.
Starlink, which says it offers coverage in international waters, plans to launch in India but says coverage in territorial waters is subject to government approval.
“This case is different because all legal channels are being bypassed,” Dhaliwal added. “They operated (phones) directly with satellite, creating a Wi-Fi hotspot.”
He said he planned to request details from Starlink, such as who purchased the device and when, as well as its usage history.
“They (the smugglers) had been using Starlink since their journey started from Myanmar,” he said.
Starlink did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands police estimated that the seized meth had a retail value of 360 billion rupees ($4.25 billion).
Their investigation comes as Starlink moves closer to a launch in India after months of lobbying to secure satellite spectrum following a confrontation with Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who has repeatedly opposed the move and pushed for spectrum auctions.
Dhaliwal said the smugglers used the Starlink Mini device, which is described on its website as “a compact, portable kit that fits easily in a backpack.”
Police in Andaman and Nicobar Islands have said they are checking the involvement of local or foreign syndicates across the network as they tackle the latest seizure case from different angles.
In 2023, seizures of methamphetamine, or meth as it is known, reached a record high of 190 tons in East and Southeast Asia as meth trafficking on maritime routes has increased in recent years, the Bureau of Drugs and Crime says the United Nations.
India is a growing transit and destination market for methamphetamine from Myanmar, the UNODC said in its report this year.
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