Apr 14, 2025 11:04 AM IST
The ATS and the Coast Guard carried out the joint operation near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in the Arabian Sea off Gujarat on the intervening night of April 12 and 13
In a joint operation, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Indian Coast Guard (ICG), seized 300kg of methamphetamine, valued at ₹1,800 crore, near the International Maritime Boundary Line off the Gujarat coast, said a senior Gujarat ATS official aware of the development.
The narcotics, allegedly smuggled from Pakistan, were dumped into the sea by smugglers on a fishing boat after they spotted the Indian patrol half a mile inside Indian waters, the official said.
The smugglers fled across the boundary into Pakistani waters to avoid arrest, he added.
The consignment was recovered and handed over to the ATS for further investigation.
Also Read:Gujarat ATS arrests 16 more in arms licences case after statewide raids
Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghavi shared the development on his official X account.
In a post, he emphasised that the seizure of narcotics worth ₹1,800 crore off the Gujarat coast demonstrated the effectiveness of such collaborations, drawing parallels with prior successful 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.
This seizure is part of the ongoing efforts to curb drug trafficking along Gujarat’s extensive 1,600-km coastline, which faces challenges due to its strategic maritime location.