India: Main drug haul off Gujarat coast, about 800kg of narcotics seized

Seizure contains over 529kg of ‘very high-quality cannabis (charas)’, greater than 234kg of the ‘most interesting high quality of crystal methamphetamine’ and about 15kgs of heroin

India’s Narcotics Management Bureau (NCB) on Saturday stated it had seized about 800 kg of medicine, with a road worth of about Rs2,000 crore, from a vessel within the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast in a joint operation with the Navy, the biggest such haul.

The seizure contains over 529kg of “very high-quality cannabis (charas)”, greater than 234kg of the “most interesting high quality of crystal methamphetamine” and about 15 kgs of heroin.

Whereas the medication are suspected to have been loaded from Pakistan, the NCB is investigating its supply contacts.

The seized narcotics, packed in giant jute baggage, have been delivered to the Porbandar port in Gujarat and the company is conducting additional formalities and probe, he added.

The unprecedented and first-of-its form seizure of virtually 800 kgs of contraband medication happened after a four-day operation that the company performed in collaboration with the Navy within the excessive seas, NCB director basic (DG) S N Pradhan informed PTI.

The NCB group was stationed for all of the 4 days on a Navy ship that patrols India’s maritime borders.

Official sources stated the contraband was seized from the “fringe of the territorial waters of India” and the medication consignment was retrieved from a vessel that was sinking as few boats and folks accompanying it deserted the drugs-laden boat after seeing the approaching Indian group comprising Naval commandos.

The NCB stated in a press release stated that the “enter relating to trafficking of medicine in excessive seas was developed by NCB and shared with Naval intelligence unit, resulting in a joint operation.”

“I can inform you that this joint motion by the Indian companies and the NCB will proceed. The NCB is dedicated to preventing for a drug-free India,” DG Pradhan stated.

The estimated worth of the seized medication is Rs 2,000 crore, the NCB assertion stated.

In September final yr, the Directorate of Income Intelligence (DRI) had seized 2,988.2 kg of heroin at Mundra port in Gujarat’s Kutch district.

The medication had been allegedly despatched from Afghanistan through Bandar-Abbas, Iran, hid with talcum powder and imported within the title of an organization in India.

Anti-narcotics consultants say that for the final 2-3 years India is witnessing that the maritime route is being most popular by worldwide traffickers to push medication into the nation to be used inside or for transit, with virtually 60-70 % of the overall medication being despatched through the ocean.

“The current seizure has dealt a telling blow to drug syndicates based mostly out of our neighbouring nation and utilizing the maritime route for the proliferation of medicine in India and different nations,” the federal anti-narcotics company added.

The Navy tweeted an image of the officers together with the seized contraband saying “In a well-coordinated multi-agency operation at sea, the Narcotics Management Bureau #NCB, with the energetic assist of #IndianNavy, efficiently seized 800 kgs of #narcotics substances. Catch is estimated price Rs 2,000 cr. #IndianNavy stays dedicated to tackling the scourge of narcotics proliferation.” PTI NES RT RT