Approximately 77 kilograms of heroin worth around Rs 400 crores was found on a Pakistani fishing boat in Indian waters off the Gujarat coast, officials said Monday. The drugs were seized around 35 nautical miles off the Kutch coast of Gujarat, by the Indian Coast Guard and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in a joint operation after midnight on Sunday, officials said.

"They seized 77 kg of heroin worth approximately Rs 400 crores after apprehending the Pakistani fishing boat Al Huseini," Gujarat's defence PRO said in a tweet early in the morning. A later investigation of the boat took place on the Jakhau coast.

In a news release, the Gujarat ATS stated that the Pakistani boat had left the Karachi port in order to establish contact with the authorities using a VHF radio channel and code words, "Hari-1" and "Hari-2".

It said the joint operation took place after the ATS received information that the Karachi-bound vessel was planning to travel 35 nautical miles off the coast of Jakhau once it crossed the International Maritime Border Line between the two countries. In a fibre boat six nautical miles from Karachi port, the crew of the boat belonging to Shahbaz Ali loaded the drugs sent to them on a vessel that had left the Karachi port.

Based on preliminary inquiry of the captured Pakistanis, it was discovered that the heroin was supplied by two Pakistani drug smugglers, identified as Haji Hasan and Haji Hasam, and it was supposed to be delivered to people associated with the underworld in Punjab, according to the ATS. Kutch on the Gujarat coast would be the place where it would be dumped, it said.

Boat crew members tried to flee when challenged. A release from the defence department said that the ICG and ATS team forced the crew members to surrender. A thorough search of the boat took place despite adverse weather conditions, and approximately 77 kg of heroin was found in five bags.

"The market value of the seized narcotics is estimated to be approximately Rs 400 crore," it said.

Over 920 kg of drugs have been seized by the ATS between August 2018 and December 2021, estimated to be valued at around Rs 4,600 crore on international markets. The ATS has arrested Pakistani, Iranian and Afghan nationals, along with Indians who were helping them smuggle drugs along the Gujarat coast, the agency reported.

Image source: India today