KOCHI: 0The Kerala coast, which spans over 580km, has been put under strict surveillance following intelligence inputs that Sri Lankan fishing boats carrying contraband and weapons might try to sneak into the area in a bid to evade the vessels of Indian Navy and Coast Guard. Ever since the seizure of four Sri Lankan fishing vessels off the Kerala coast in two separate incidents in March this year, Indian Navy, Coast Guard and Coastal Police have upped their surveillance especially in areas that cannot be easily accessed from land.
A senior intelligence officer said inputs have revealed that a couple of Sri Lankan fishing boats were stuck in the ocean after the Indian agencies launched combing operations. These boats may attempt to enter the Kerala coast, the officer said.“Navy and Coast Guard have heightened surveillance in Arabian sea and Indian Ocean,” the officer added. Kerala Coastal Police Inspector General P Vijayan said the department has been put on alert to intensify patrolling. “The teams have been directed to get involved with the local fishing community to collect details,” he said.
After the probe into the seizure of Sri Lankan boats revealed the role of Pakistan-based rackets in the trafficking of drugs and weapons through Arabian sea, Intelligence Bureau and the intelligence units of Ministry of Defence (MoD) have also swung into action. As per an official release issued by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on March 30, the probe points to the role of a Pakistan-based drug trafficking network, which in turn reveals the nexus between narcotics trafficking and extremist elements.
The enforcement agencies also suspect the role of drug cartels based in Pakistan and Afghanistan in pushing narcotics to the Indian coast, with the help of local drug networks that use fishing boats to smuggle in the contraband.