The Indian Coast Guard and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) seized 115 kg of cocaine worth an estimated ₹1,150 crore during a joint operation off the Mundra coast, officials said on Wednesday, according to news agency PTI.The operation was carried out on the intervening night of May 25 and 26, following specific intelligence inputs shared by ATS Gujarat about narcotics smuggling through the maritime route. (Representational image/AFP File)The joint operation was conducted on the intervening night of May 25 and 26 after ATS Gujarat received specific intelligence inputs about narcotics being smuggled through the maritime route, an official release said.Gujarat DGP Dr KLN Rao said that a ship was intercepted at the outer anchorage of Mundra Port, where six bags containing around 118 kg of cocaine were seized. He said two foreign nationals had brought the consignment on the ship for delivery to a Tanzanian national and a Ugandan national in Delhi.Also Read | Punjab leads in NDPS arrests in north India, Delhi in synthetic drugs; Haryana key transit routeRao said three people had been taken into custody and were being interrogated. He added that investigators had also seized a high-communication satellite phone and an Apple tag, from which further information was expected to be extracted.According to Rao, the ship had reached Mundra after passing through Brazil, several Latin American countries, Mexico, the United States and Karachi.How ATS and Coast Guard tracked, intercepted and seized consignmentICG interceptor boats carrying ATS personnel launched a massive search operation in the Mundra anchorage area after suspicious activity was detected onboard a container vessel, identified as MV Europe, anchored nearly five nautical miles off the Mundra coast, the release said.During the operation, the joint team spotted several bags being thrown overboard from the vessel under the cover of darkness. Acting swiftly despite poor visibility, Indian Coast Guard and ATS personnel moved to the spot and recovered five bags from the sea, according to the release.The vessel has been brought to port for further investigation, and joint probes by the ICG, ATS Gujarat and other agencies are underway, officials said.This was the 15th successful anti-narcotics operation jointly conducted by the ICG and ATS Gujarat in the last five years, they added.(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
Cocaine worth ₹1,150 crore seized off Mundra coast in joint Coast Guard-Gujarat ATS operation
Gujarat DGP says that a ship was intercepted at the outer anchorage of Mundra Port, where six bags containing around 118 kg of cocaine were seized | India News











