300 Kg Drugs Worth Rs 1,800 Crore Intercepted Off Gujarat Coast, Minister Commends Anti-Terrorism Squad And NCB

300 kilograms (kg) of methamphetamine drugs, worth approximately Rs 1,800 crore have been intercepted near the International Maritime Boundary Line off the Gujarat coast, Hindustan Times reported.

A senior official from the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) reported that a collaborative effort with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) resulted in the seizure of drugs, purportedly smuggled from Pakistan.

The official stated that the drugs were discarded into the ocean by traffickers using a fishing boat. This action was taken when they noticed an Indian patrol within half a mile inside Indian territorial waters.

He further mentioned that the smugglers had escaped across the border into Pakistan's waters to evade capture. The shipment was retrieved and subsequently transferred to the ATS for additional scrutiny.

The update was disseminated via his official X account by Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who commended the joint operation on the night of 12 and 13 April.

He underscored that the confiscation of narcotics valued at Rs 1,800 crore off the Gujarat coast exemplified the success of these collaborations. He compared this with previous victorious operations involving the Indian Coast Guard, Narcotics Control Bureau, and ATS.

“This operation demonstrates the effectiveness of inter-agency collaboration in combating drug smuggling, similar to previous joint operations by Indian Coast Guard, NCB, and ATS that have resulted in significant seizures”, he wrote.

The confiscation is a continuous endeavor to clamp down on drug smuggling across Gujarat's vast 1,600-km coastline, a task made challenging due to its key maritime position.