THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Ahmedabad, April 14: In a major operation against drug trafficking, the Indian Coast Guard and Gujarat ATS seized 300 kg of narcotics valued at ₹1,800 crore off the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) near Gujarat. Officials reported on Monday that the successful joint operation took place on the intervening night between April 12 and 13.
The Coast Guard, during their patrol, detected a suspicious Pakistani fishing boat on their radar near the suspected handoff point. Upon spotting the ICG ship, the smugglers quickly dumped the narcotics into the sea and fled across the IMBL in an attempt to evade capture. Despite their efforts, the contraband was recovered from the waters and handed over to the ATS for further investigation.
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Sharing the news on X, the Indian Coast Guard posted, “Indian Coast Guard, in a joint operation with Gujarat ATS on the night of 12-13 Apr 25, seized 300 Kg narcotics worth Rs 1800 Cr off IMBL near the Gujarat coast. On spotting the ICG ship, smugglers dumped contraband & fled across IMBL. The consignment was recovered at sea and handed to #ATS for further investigation. A testament to strong inter-agency synergy against drug smuggling.”
Sunil Joshi, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Gujarat ATS, revealed that two ATS officers had been deployed aboard the Coast Guard vessel to aid the mission.
He detailed that Inspector JM Patel had earlier received intelligence about a Pakistani supplier named Fida attempting to smuggle approximately 400 kg of narcotics by handing it over to an Indian boat from Tamil Nadu near Porbandar.
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Acting on this tip-off, ATS officers Inspector VM Bharwad and Sub-Inspector Bhupendra Waghelal were assigned to collaborate with the Coast Guard.
DIG Joshi further explained that the Pakistani boat’s standard tactic to avoid being implicated was to discard the illegal cargo upon noticing law enforcement ships.
