AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat police seized a 'suspicious' boat and arrested five people, including three Iranian nationals and two Indian citizens from Tamil Nadu, near Okha in Gujarat's Devbhumi Dwarka district on Thursday. A satellite phone and drugs have also been recovered from the boat.
According to an official police news release, “The SOG got information that a suspicious watercraft was approaching the Signature Bridge in Okha. When they arrived at the location, a boat was approaching the shore in the dark. Three Iranian nationals and one Indian national were reported off the boat when it was intercepted and interrogated. These individuals arrived by boat from Iran.”
“Police investigated the yacht and discovered a satellite phone and 10.02 grams of heroin worth Rs 5,01,000 in the international market from Mohammad Said Balochi, an Iranian national on board. The Okha Marine Police Station has registered cases under the NCPS Act, the Passport Act, and the Foreigners Act,” said the statement.
The police also caught hold of the brother of the Indian citizen travelling in the boat, who had reached Okha from Iran via Rajkot. According to primary information, the arrested Indian citizen, a resident of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, had his passport seized by his employer in Iran. Without a passport, he chose to enter India illegally with the assistance of three Iranians.
Meanwhile, the Tamil man's brother flew directly from Muscat to Rajkot because he had a passport. According to the previous arrangement, the boat would arrive at Okha at the same time as the Tamil Nadu man's brother was there to receive him.