6 Pakistanis carrying drugs of Rs 200 cr arrested in Indian waters

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in a joint operation on Wednesday apprehended a Pakistani boat Al Tayyasa with six crew members in Indian waters carrying approximately 40 kgs of Heroine worth Rs 200 crore.

The Indian Coast Guard strategically deployed two fast interceptor class of ships, C-408 and C-454 for patrolling in areas close to the notional International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) during the intervening night of September 13-14 on the basis of a special intelligence input, according to an official statement by Defence PRO Gandhinagar.

Taking to Twitter, “In a joint Ops with ATS #Gujarat@IndiaCoastGuard apprehended #Pakistani Boat Al Tayyasa with 06 crew in #Indian waters of #Arabian Sea carrying about 40 Kgs #heroin worth approx 200 Cr. Boat being brought to #Jakhau for further investigation,” the Indian Coast Guard said.

During midnight, a Pakistani Boat was observed moving suspiciously in Indian waters, 5 nm inside notional IMBL and 40 nm from Jakhau, the press statement read, adding that boat over boarded a consignment and started evasive maneuvering following which the consignment was skillfully recovered by one of the two ICG ships and found to be a drug consignment.

On visual examination, drug is believed to be Heroin with quantity approximately 40 Kgs and market value of Rs 200 crore. The other ICG ship, braving very rough seas in pitch dark night and marginal weather conditions maneuvered and stopped the boat.According to Indian Coast Guard officials, the Pakistani boat was apprehended 6 miles inside Indian waters. “Two fast attack boats of ICG caught a Pakistani boat 33 nautical miles off the Jakhau Coast in Gujarat,” said the officials.

Notably, the Pakistani boat is being brought to Jakhau for further joint investigation by all agencies and the six crew members were questioned.

This is the fifth such joint operation by the Indian Coast Guard and ATS, Gujarat in last one year and has further highlighted the importance of effective coordination amongst stakeholders for robust coastal security network, the statement added.