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Gujarat ATS, in a joint operation with the Indian Coast Guard and central intelligence agencies, seized approximately 526 kg of heroin and methamphetamine from an Iranian boat in Indian territorial waters west of Lakshadweep, with Gujarat Police saying wanted accused in India and drug smuggler Haji Salim and his associates had planned to send the consignment from Iran to India.
According to the Gujarat Police, the operation followed intelligence received on September 10 regarding a conspiracy to smuggle around 500 kg of methamphetamine and heroin into India. The consignment was reportedly to be transported by an Iranian boat named Azad and delivered to a Tamil Nadu-based boat in Indian territorial waters in the Mumbai-Kochi-Lakshadweep region. The police said Haji Salim, a wanted accused in India and a drug smuggler, along with his associates, had planned to send the consignment aboard the Iranian boat within approximately 15 to 20 days. The consignment was allegedly to be unloaded along the Tamil Nadu coastline and transported in smaller quantities through other vehicles for delivery to a Nigerian national in Punjab, the release said. An advance payment towards the value of the consignment had reportedly already been made through the hawala channel, while the remaining amount was to be transferred through hawala following delivery. The Gujarat ATS said it received information that a Nigerian national had held a meeting in Ahmedabad through an intermediary regarding the drug transaction, during which an order had reportedly been placed for approximately 500 kg of methamphetamine and heroin. Following the intelligence input, Gujarat ATS contacted Indian Coast Guard Headquarters in Delhi. Under the guidance of Gujarat ATS Superintendent of Police K Siddharth, a team led by Police Inspectors B H Korot and V N Vaghela was dispatched to Kochi, Kerala, where it joined senior Coast Guard officers to form a joint team. The joint team conducted surveillance and checks of suspicious boats in the relevant maritime area aboard a Coast Guard vessel. On September 25, the boat identified through the intelligence input was located in Indian territorial waters west of Lakshadweep and intercepted by the Coast Guard. ATS and Coast Guard personnel boarded and searched the vessel before it was brought to Mumbai on Wednesday, Gujarat Police said. Five Pakistani nationals were found aboard the Iranian boat and identified as Mohammad Yakub Balochi, Shakirullah, Faridullah, Ahmed Khan and Wahidullah Khan, all residents of Peshawar, Pakistan. The authorities recovered approximately 400 kg of methamphetamine and 126 kg of heroin from the vessel, bringing the total seizure to around 526 kg, according to the release. During preliminary questioning, it was revealed that the Azad had departed from Konarak, Iran, and that the consignment had been transferred to it from another boat that had arrived from Gwadar, Pakistan. The Gujarat Police said the boat's Tandel was reportedly to use a Starlink device during the planned operation. Further legal proceedings are underway, and a case is being registered at Gujarat ATS in connection with the matter, the release said. The operation, according to Gujarat Police, demonstrated coordinated maritime surveillance and cooperation among the Gujarat ATS, Indian Coast Guard and central intelligence agencies in tackling international narcotics trafficking. (ANI)
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