PARADIP: The Customs Department has reportedly engaged two scuba divers to search for additional cocaine packets suspected to have been thrown into the sea by crew members to thwart the investigation.
Unofficial sources suggest that despite the recovery of 22 brick-sized cocaine packets, one is still unaccounted for.
The discovery unfolded when a crane operator noticed suspicious packets affixed to a magnet box on the Panama-registered MV Debi ship at the Paradip International Cargo Terminal (PICT) some days back. Customs officials, aided by a dog squad, seized the packets, which turned out to contain cocaine. In response to suspicions of more packets being discarded into the sea, Customs officials deployed two scuba divers for an underwater search.
Unfortunately, the efforts did not yield any result, leaving the possibility that crew members disposed of evidence before the raid. Ten individuals, including three Vietnamese crew members, six crane operators from Paradip port, and a managerial-level employee of a stevedoring agency, are under the scrutiny of probe agencies. No arrests have been made in connection with the case.