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Iranian boat with heroin worth ₹150 to ₹250 crore, 7 crew members apprehended off Gujarat coast
The Iranian boat was seized during the operation conducted on Saturday night and is said to have been carrying an estimated 30 to 50kg of heroin.
An Iranian boat with seven crew members and a huge consignment of heroin was apprehended off the Gujarat coast in an operation carried out by the state Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Indian Coast Guard, an official said on Sunday. "On an intelligence based joint act, @IndianCoastGuard with ATS #Gujarat apprehended #Iranian boat in #Indian waters with 07 crew carrying #drugs. The boat is brought to the nearest port for further rummaging and investigations," a defence spokesperson in Gujarat said on their Twitter handle.
According to news agency PTI, the seven crew members, who have been apprehended by authorities, are Iranians. The boat, seized during the operation conducted on Saturday night, carried an estimated 30 to 50kg of heroin, which is worth about ₹150 to ₹250 crore in the international markets, PTI reported citing officials. The operation was launched on the basis of information that an attempt was being made to smuggle in heroin through the sea route, Gujarat ATS deputy inspector general (DIG) Himanshu Shukla told PTI.
"A joint operation was launched with the Indian Coast Guard and the Iranian boat and its seven crew members were apprehended. We presume that somewhere between 30 and 50 kg of heroin, worth ₹150 crore to ₹250 crore, was loaded on the boat. The consignment may be more, as the exact amount can be known only after rummaging of the boat," Shukla said.
