In a huge high-sea operation, the Narcotic Control Bureau(NCB) and Indian Navy on Saturday seized 529 kg of Hashish, 234 kg of Methamphetamine and a minimal quantity of heroin near Porbandar. According to NCB sources, the drugs are worth around Rs 2,000 crore.
This is the first time a high-sea operation of this magnitude was conducted. The NCB team acted on the input, which pointed to international drug trafficking. NCB later shared the information with the Naval Intelligence Unit, and a joint team was formed to seize the massive amount of drugs mid-sea.
Earlier in India, drugs were smuggled through Punjab and Kashmir routes, but after sealing both the borders, drug traffickers might have chosen the Gujarat Sea route as in the past four to five years, massive amounts of drugs has been seized from the said route.
Important to note that 1500 kg of heroin was seized mid-sea in July 2017. In 2018, 2 peddlers were caught with 5 kg heroin, and during the interrogation, they revealed that 100 kg of heroin was smuggled into India. In January 2020, two Pakistanis were caught with 35 kilograms of heroin worth Rs 175 crore, and in April 2021, eight Pakistanis were caught with 30 kg of heroin worth Rs 150 crore.
