Ahmedabad, May 27 : The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad have seized 115 kg of cocaine valued at around Rs 1,150 crore from a container vessel in a joint operation off the Mundra coast in the state, officials said on Wednesday.
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, an official release said.
ICG interceptor boats carrying ATS personnel launched an extensive search operation in the Mundra anchorage area, where suspicious activity was noticed onboard a container vessel identified as MV Europe, anchored around five nautical miles off Mundra, it said.
The joint team observed a few bags being thrown overboard from the vessel during the dark hours, following which the ICG and ATS personnel moved swiftly to the location and recovered five bags from the sea despite low visibility conditions, the release said.
Upon examination, the bags were found to contain 115 packets of white powdery substance weighing around one kilogram each. Preliminary tests confirmed the substance to be cocaine, officials said.
The total seized contraband weighed around 115 kg, and its estimated value in the international market is approximately Rs 1,150 crore, as per open-source assessments, the release stated.
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.
