Indian agencies seized 86 kilogrammes of contraband, suspected to be heroin, off the Gujarat coast worth over Rs 600 crore from a Pakistani fishing vessel, making it one of the biggest seizures amidst ongoing elections.
The mid-sea over night operation was carried out by a joint team of the Indian Coast Guard, Narcotics Control Bureau, and the Guajrat anti-terror squad, the Coast Guard said on Sunday.
The officials have arrested 14 members of the crew, who all belong to Pakistan.
“Due to the enforcement of MCC in the country, all the enforcement agencies are on high alert in the State. During this period, information was received by K K Patel, Superintendent of Police, Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) that a Pakistani drug operative named Haji Aslam alias Babu Baloch would be sending a Pakistani fishing boat, ‘Alraza’ bearing registration number 339-BB-BFD from Karachi harbour to deliver narcotic substance like Heroin or Methamphetamine,” the statement said.
According to the News 18 outlet, the Karachi-origin boat was to deliver the contraband in the intervening night of April 25 and April 26 in the Indian waters off Porbandar Coast, which would then be transported to a Dhow from Tamil Nadu to be further delivered to Sri Lanka-based drug operatives.
“The Indian Coast Guard and Gujarat ATS team that had tried to board the vessel for checking was obstructed by the crew of the suspect boat and to restrain the crew and to stop the fleeing vessel, firepower was used in which one member of the crew of the vessel sustained bullet injuries,” the statement added.
During the encounter, Nazir Hussain Azam Khan aged 62, who is the master of the boat, had suffered a bullet injury during the mid-sea operation and was evacuated for further medical care.
He has been operated upon and is presently in stable condition. The suspect Pakistani fishing boat, ‘Alraza’ was carrying 14 crew members, all Pakistani nationals, and the search of the boat revealed contraband material.
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