NEW DELHI: In a joint operation with Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Sunday announced that it has seized 29.954 kg hashish oil worth nearly Rs 33 crore from a tug-barge vessel sailing towards Maldives and arrested three in connection with the case.
Officials in the revenue intelligence agency said that the operation was conducted on the intervening night of March 7-8 following actionable intelligence input developed by DRI officers.
The DRI officers and ICG sailors based on the input identified a tug vessel towing a barge laden with rock boulders, which had departed from Tuticorin Old Port in which Tuticorin-based gang covertly loaded significant quantities of hashish oil onto the barge mid-sea during its voyage to the Maldives, with the assistance of a crew member from the vessel.
A senior official said, “At the behest of the DRI, the ICG intercepted the vessel on March 5, 2025, in mid-sea off the Kanyakumari coast and escorted it back to Tuticorin New Port.”
Following the arrival of the vessel at the Tuticorin New Port, three persons were apprehended including the individual responsible for placing the narcotic drug and his accomplice, the official said, adding that the crew member involved in sharing the vessel’s location with the gang was also detained for further investigation once the vessel docked.
Rummaging of the barge vessel led to recovery of two bags containing 29 plastic packets with description of food items printed on it, but on their examination it was found to contain ‘black-coloured liquid paste like substance’, which on testing with the field test kit resulted positive for ‘Hashish Oil’, the official said.
“In total, 29 packets weighing 29.954 kg of Hashish Oil, valued at Rs 32.94 crore in the illicit international market, were recovered and seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The three accused persons have then been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.”