Gujarat ATS seizes big consignment of drugs from Mundra port; probe on

The Gujarat ATS has been carrying out search operations for the past couple of days at Mundra port after receiving specific intel about the container

Updated on: Jul 12, 2022, 19:48:44 IST

By Maulik Pathak

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Less than a week after the Border Security Force apprehended four Pakistani fishermen and seized 10 fishing boats from Indian waters off Gujarat coast, the state anti-terrorist squad (ATS) said that it has seized 75 kgs of heroin from Mundra port in Kutch district.

A worker sits on a heap of containers at Mundra port in Gujarat. (REUTERS File Photo)

“We have seized a consignment of drugs, mainly heroin, from Mundra port. The consignment was coming from the Middle East. The quantity and its value are being determined and there will be an announcement in connection with this in the next few hours,” an ATS official said.

The Gujarat ATS has been carrying out search operations for the past couple of days at Mundra port after receiving specific intel about the container, he added.

On May 26 this year, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said in a statement that it had seized 56 kgs of cocaine from a container near the Mundra port. However, the valuation of the seized substance was not revealed.

Also Read:BSF officials apprehend four Pakistani fishermen, seize 10 boats in Kutch

In September 2021, the largest seizure of narcotics substance in the country was reported at Mundra port when a drugs consignment weighing 3,000 kgs, worth ₹21,000 crore, was seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. The matter was handed over to the National Investigation Agency to probe terror financing angles.

In February this year, a joint operation conducted by the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Indian Navy led to the seizure of 750 kgs of drugs from a ship off the Gujarat coast, worth over ₹2,000 crore.

From 2019-2021, Gujarat police and other agencies seized contraband weighing 437 kgs and worth ₹2,100 crore, and arrested 73 persons.

In the first week of June, nine Pakistani nationals were arrested by Gujarat ATS, in a joint operation with the Indian Coast Guard, while trying to smuggle heroin worth ₹280 crore to India. The Pakistani boat ‘Al Haj’ was carrying about 56 kgs of heroin and was brought to Jakhau port in Kutch district for further investigation. The boat was intercepted around 14 nautical miles into Indian territory of the International Maritime Borderline off the Jakhau coast in Kutch.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.