Asia

India Intercepts Pakistan-Registered Vessel Carrying Narcotics Worth $71 Mln

In March 2019, 100 kg of heroin was seized from a Karachi-registered boat while those on board were Iranians. In 2017, the Coast Guard caught a Panama-registered vessel carrying 1,500 kg of heroin valued at $500 million.
Sputnik

New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Tuesday announced that it had seized a huge cache of narcotics, worth $71 million in the international market, from a Pakistani vessel off the western coast of Gujarat state.

The vessel — Al Madina — is registered in Pakistan's port city of Karachi and had been sailing near the Kutch district of Gujarat.

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"Following a tip-off the Indian Coast Guard Ship apprehended a Karachi registered Pakistani fishing boat 'AL-MADINA' with 6 crew onboard off Gujarat coast this morning and seized 194 packets of narcotics substance", a government statement read.

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Officials said that the narcotics are worth around $71 million. Further investigations are underway with Pakistani nationals at Jakhau harbour.

Acting on intelligence input that a Pakistani fishing boat was waiting near the International Maritime Boundary Line to deliver narcotics off Jakhau coast, the Indian Coast Guard dispatched a ship and two fast interceptor boats to apprehend the suspected vessel, said an official statement.

This is the second such seizure on the Gujarat coast in the last three months.

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