Raigad coast drugs haul: Cops seek info on routes of vessels carrying contrabands

The police in Navi Mumbai are investigating a recent drugs haul on the Raigad coast and have sought information from port authorities across Maharashtra about the routes taken by vessels carrying contraband. The investigation is being conducted from all possible angles, with the Indian Coast Guard and Navy also involved. The drugs, including 175 packets of hashish weighing a total of 209.13 kg, were found on five beaches on the Raigad coast. The police are also looking at the possibility of the involvement of a boat that sunk in the area.

Navi Mumbai: As part of the ongoing investigation into drugs haul on the Raigad coast in August last week, the police on Saturday sought information from the port authorities across Maharashtra as to how the vessels carrying contraband passed through their jurisdictions and also asked for details of their routes.

HT Image

“We haven’t found anything concrete yet but we are investigating the case from all possible angles. Indian Coast Guard and Navy too are looking into the case from their level,” said Atul Zende, additional superintendent of police, Raigad.

A total of 175 packets of hashish weighing a total of 209.13 kg worth ₹8.36 crore were found on five beaches on the Raigad coast during a three-day drive by Raigad police in August last week. The drive was undertaken after over 278 kg of hashish was found on seven different beaches of Ratnagiri from August 14 to August 22.

According to Navi Mumbai police, the drugs were first found by them after they arrested a 27-year-old Dapoli resident from Koparkhairane on August 7 with two packets of hashish weighing two kgs. The accused identified as Rais Abdul Sayyed revealed that he had found the drugs on the coast of Dapoli Beach in Ratnagiri and was in Koparkhairane to sell the same.

He further told the police that there were more such packets. “On visiting the beach, we found eight more packets. Thus, we seized a total of 10 kg charas. It was after this, that Ratnagiri police were alerted. Then the drugs were later found from various beaches in Ratnagiri and Raigad,” a police officer from Navi Mumbai crime branch, said.

The Raigad police are also looking at the possibility of the involvement of the people who were in the boat that drowned, whose remains were found on the Raigad coast. On August 20, remains of a boat were found near the shores between Diveagar and Adgaon. The police then confirmed that it was the remains of the Gujarat boat ‘Bana Sagar’ that sank on August 17. “We are looking at all the possibilities and are also investigating if anywhere this boat that sank was also involved in the drug supply,” Zende added.