Drugs worth Rs 600 crore, 14 Pakistanis caught near Gujarat coast

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has seized 86 kg of drugs worth Rs 600 crore from a Pakistani boat and arrested 14 persons on board the vessel off the Gujarat coast, the maritime security agency said on Sunday.The overnight operation in the Arabian Sea was carried out in coordination with the Gujarat Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), it said in a release. This was the 11th such successful joint operation in the past three years involving the Coast Guard and the ATS, it said, seeking to underscore the synergy between the two agencies.
The agency deployed ships and aircraft on concurrent missions to ensure the efficiency of the operation. One of the key vessels involved in the operation was the Coast Guard ship Rajratan, which had officials from both the NCB and ATS on board.Despite attempts by the suspected drug-laden boat to evade capture, the vigilant ship successfully identified and intercepted it. A specialized team from the ship conducted a thorough search, confirming the presence of drugs onboard.
"No amount of evasive manoeuvring tactics employed by the drug laden boat could save it from the swift and strong ICG ship Rajratan. Ship's specialist team embarked the suspect boat and after thorough checks, confirmed the presence of the sizeable amount narcotics," Coast Guard said.