3,300 kg of drugs seized from boat mid-sea off Gujarat coast; 5 held

The Indian Navy and the NCB have in a joint operation apprehended a dhow off the Gujarat coast with five crew members and seized 3,300 kg of drugs from it, the largest quantity of narcotics seized in recent times, officials said on Wednesday.

The drugs seized include 3,089 kilograms of charas, 158 kg of Methamphetamine and 25 kg of morphine, they said.

The dhow and crew members have been handed over to the law enforcement agencies by the Navy after being apprehended on Tuesday, the officials said.

”Indian Navy in a coordinated ops with Narcotics Control Bureau, apprehended a suspicious dhow carrying almost 3300Kgs contraband (3089 Kgs Charas, 158 Kgs Methamphetamine 25 Kgs Morphine). The largest seizure of narcotics, in quantity in recent times,” a Navy spokesperson said in a post on X.

”Based on inputs from P8I LRMR aircraft on surveillance mission & corroboration from @narcoticsbureau, #IndianNavy’s Mission Deployed warship was diverted to successfully intercept & apprehend the suspicious dhow,” the post said.

”This seizure of drugs is by far the largest in terms of quantity, & was possible through #collaborative efforts of #IndianNavy’s #missiondeployed assets with the NCB. The contraband, apprehended boat & crew handed over to the Law Enforcement Agencies at an Indian port #27Feb 24,” it added.

The spokesperson said the coordinated response of the Indian Navy with law enforcement agencies is reflective of their resolute stance against narcotics trafficking in India’s maritime neighbourhood. The official did not specify the cost of the contraband.

In international markets, one kg of charas is priced at Rs 7 crore.

A senior official of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Tuesday said a large quantity of different types of drugs, including charas (hashish), was seized from a boat during the mid-sea operation off the state coast.

Based on a specific tip-off, the operation was conducted in the Arabian Sea near the International Maritime Boundary Line, he said.