Great Gujarat drug bust: 700 kg meth seized, eight Iranians arrested
NEW DELHI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), seized approximately 700 kg of the psychotropic drug methamphetamine from an unregistered vessel in Indian territorial waters, a senior NCB officer said on Friday.
The unregistered vessel was intercepted in a joint operation with Gujarat Police and the Indian Navy. The seized methamphetamine is estimated to be worth around Rs 1,700 crore.
Eight foreign nationals, who were found on the vessel without any identification documents, were arrested. They claimed to be Iranian nationals, the officer said.
Sharing more details, Deputy Director General Operations (NCB) Gyaneshwar Singh said they received intelligence input that an unregistered vessel, which does not have any AIS installed on it will be entering in Indian waters with Narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.
"Operation codenamed SAGAR-MANTHAN-4 was launched on this intelligence input and the vessel was identified and interdicted by the Indian Navy by mobilising its mission-deployed maritime patrol assets resulting in the above-said seizure," the DDG said.
He stated that investigations are underway to identify the forward and backward linkages of the drug syndicate, with assistance being sought from foreign drug law enforcement agencies.
Notably, operation "Sagar Manthan" was launched early this year by NCB by constituting a team of officers of Operations Branch of NCB Headquarters and officers of Operations /Intelligence Wing of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and ATS Gujarat Police to counter the threat to national security emanating from maritime trafficking of illicit drugs.
"This operation, conducted jointly by the NCB, Navy, and Gujarat Police Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), underscores the government’s unwavering commitment to its vision," said Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
"It stands as a stellar example of seamless coordination among our agencies to achieve this goal."
So far this year, 11 Iranian nationals and 14 Pakistani nationals have been arrested in three cases, and are all in jail awaiting trial and in the past nine months, over 4,000 kg of drugs have been seized from the Arabian Sea near Porbandar in a series of high-profile operations.
Nine months ago, security agencies, including the NCB, Gujarat ATS, and the Navy, conducted a joint operation that resulted in the largest drug haul so far - 3,132 kg of three different types of narcotics. Five Pakistani crew members aboard the vessel were arrested in connection with the drug seizure.
In another major operation, 173 kg of drugs worth Rs 60 crore were seized, and two individuals were arrested. Just few days ago, 86 kg of heroin valued at Rs 600 crore was confiscated from the same region.
To eradicate the scourge of drugs from India, the Centre had recently created 111 posts in NCB including 5 SP level posts in addition to the 425 posts created in the last 2 years.
(With inputs from Dilip Singh Kshatriya)