Big narcotic haul: Navy seizes drugs worth ₹3,000 crore off Kerala coast

In a swift operation the Indian Navy on Monday seized narcotics worth ₹3,000 crore from a foreign fishing vessel which was moving suspiciously off Kerala coast, a defence spokesman said in Kochi

In a swift operation the Indian Navy on Monday seized narcotics worth ₹3,000 crore from a foreign fishing vessel which was moving suspiciously off Kerala coast, a defence spokesman said in Kochi. The vessel was later taken to Kochi and four inmates were detained.

Image for representation. (Shutterstock)

“To investigate the vessel, the ships team conducted a boarding and search operation which led to the seizure of more than 300 kilograms of narcotics substances,” he said. However, he did not disclose the exact location from where the seizure was made or the exact time of the seizure.

This is the biggest seizure of the narcotic substance in the recent past and the identity of the occupants was not disclosed. The spokesman said naval ship ‘Suvarna’, during its surveillance patrolling in the Arabian Sea, encountered a fishing vessel that was moving around suspiciously and later it was force-searched.

“This is a major catch, not only in terms of the quantity and the cost but also from the perspective of disruption of the illegal narcotics smuggling routes which emanate from the Makran coast and flow towards Indian, Maldivian and Sri Lankan destinations,” he said in a statement, adding that a major portion of the proceeds from the thriving drug racket was channelled to extremist and criminal activities.

The destination of the contraband was suspected to be India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Makran is a coastal region in Baluchistan along the coast of the Gulf of Oman and notorious for the narcotic drug trade. Recently, there were intelligence reports that international drug syndicates were eying Kochi, one of the fastest-growing three-tier cities of the country.