Ahmedabad: Authorities in Gujarat have seized 61kg of drugs worth ₹425 crore from an Iranian vessel tracked down in the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast, the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad ATS) said in a statement on Tuesday.
The drugs were seized by the Indian Coast Guard which was acting on an intelligence input provided by the ATS in a joint operation, the ATS statement said.
The boat and the five-member crew were taken into custody on Monday and brought to Okha for further investigation.
The ATS statement said the coast guard deployed two fast patrol class of ships, ICGS Meera Behn and ICGS Abheek, on Monday to patrol the Arabian Sea following the input.
On Monday night, the coast guard spotted the vessel in Indian waters about 340km off Okha coast and tried to evade the security personnel.
The boat was chased and forced to stop by ICG ships. The boat was found to be an Iranian boat with five crew of Iranian nationality, the statement said, adding that the drugs were found during a search of the vessel.
The ATS statement said the squad and the coast guard have together seized 388kg of narcotics worth about ₹1,940 crore in 2022.