Boat with six Pakistani crew members carrying drugs caught off Gujarat coast

Ahmedabad, Mar 12 (PTI) A boat carrying 60 packets of drugs was seized and six Pakistani crew members onboard the vessel were apprehended off the Gujarat coast in a multi-agency operation on Tuesday, an official said.

Based on a tip-off, the Indian Coast Guard, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) conducted a joint operation in the Arabian Sea near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), said Sunil Joshi, superintendent of police, ATS.

“A vessel carrying nearly 60 packets of contraband was seized around 180 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast. The boat with six Pakistani crew members is now being brought in for further investigation,” he said.

The type of drug and its value are yet to be ascertained as the boat is being brought to the shore, he said.

This is the second major anti-narcotics operation carried out by the agencies in the Arabian Sea in one month. On February 26, five foreign nationals were held off the Porbandar coast with 3,300 kg of narcotics, including charas.