Giving a major setback to the drug trafficking network, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) launched a joint operation on the intervening night of 12-13 April and seized more than 300 kg of drugs, priced at around Rs 1800 crore. According to an official release, based on intelligence information, the campaign was run in the sea near the Fantasy International Marine Border Line (IMBL).
The campaign was launched after the Gujarat ATS provided a reliable intelligence input about the effort for possible transpiration of drugs. Taking rapid action, an ICG ship posted in a multi-mesan role in North Maharashtra-South Gujarat Marine region was diverted to stop the suspected ship. The release states that despite the challenges of a deep dark night, the ICG ship successfully found the target boat near IMBL. Sensing the adjacent blockage, the suspected boat tried to throw his drug consignment into the sea and fled to IMBL in an attempt to escape. The ICG vessel immediately sent its sea boat team to recover the banned substance released and also chased the fleeing ship.
However, due to the early distance between the ICG ship and the suspected boat at the time of being close to IMBL and detection, the smugglers managed to cross into international waters, causing the Indian team to stop chasing according to the international protocol, said in the release. Meanwhile, the ICG’s sea boat team recovered the drugs thrown after a careful search operation, facing adverse conditions at night. The seized drugs were later taken to Porbandar for further investigation and legal procedures.
