By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, May 21:
The high-grade heroin weighing 218 kg worth Rs 1526 crore in the international illicit market was seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in a joint operation off Agatti coast in Lakshadweep (Union Territory) on Wednesday.
The contraband was seized from two boats ‘Prince’ and ‘Little Jesus’ after several days of continuous search and monitoring amidst very rough seas a press release issued by the ICG on Friday stated.
Both the boats were escorted to Kochi (Kerala) and were thoroughly searched at the ICG District Headquarters in Kochi, which led to the recovery of 218 packets of heroin weighing 1 kg each. On questioning, crew members in these boats confessed that they had received heroin in huge quantity on the high seas and that they had concealed it in both the boats.
An official statement said that an operation was launched by the DRI after it developed specific intelligence over several months that two Indian boats would be sailing from the coast of Tamil Nadu and will receive narcotics in large quantities somewhere in the Arabian Sea, during the second/third week of May. Based on these inputs, a joint operation was launched by the DRI and the ICG on May 07. Under the operation, ICG ship “Sujeet”, with DRI officials onboard, maintained a close watch near India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Now the proceedings under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 are being undertaken by the DRI. Besides the follow-up searches are also taking place at various locations and further investigation is in progress, the statement said.
This was the fourth major drug haul by the DRI in the past month. Earlier, the DRI had recovered 205.6 kg of heroin from a commercial import consignment of gypsum powder at the Kandla port (Gujarat) on April 20, 396 kg of yarn (laced with heroin) at Pipapav port (District Amreli, Gujarat) on April 29, and 62 kg heroin at Air Cargo Complex, IGI Airport in New Delhi on May 10, collectively valued at approximately Rs 2,500 crore in the international illicit market.
In the recent past, the ICG and DRI have undertaken some significant anti-drug trafficking operations. The joint operation against transnational drug trafficking networks has been successful in disrupting the inflow of narcotics into the country through maritime routes.
The DRI has seized over 3800 kg of heroin worth Rs 26,000 crore in the international illicit market. Besides, over 350 kg of cocaine valued at approximately Rs 3500 crore was seized by the DRI, including a 303 kg haul of cocaine from a container at Tuticorin Port (Tamil Nadu) in April 2021. The ICG on the other hand recovered over 03 MT of narcotics worth nearly Rs 6200 crore in the last three years, bringing total drug seizures to Rs 12,206 crore to date.
The notable cases include the apprehension of Sri Lankan boat Shenaya Duwa and Ravihansi, both of which were apprehended with drugs and arms viz. AK-47 and pistols, Iranian boat Jumma, Pak boat Al Huseni and Al-Haj recently.
