Security agencies across the country have been on red alert after 10 containers with consignments – including weapons and ammunition – belonging to the Pakistani Army were seized at the Mundra port, located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Kutch near Mundra, in Kutch district, Gujarat.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that these consignments were being smuggled into the port via countries of the Arabian Gulf. Experts say that such consignments are recently being pushed as general cargo through Mundra via Afghanistan, Iran and Dubai.
The containers, arriving in the port from Africa, were imported by an Ahmedabad-based shipping agency named Sai Bandhan Infinium Pvt Ltd. The contents of the containers were billed as scrap, amounting to some 200 tonnes. A search revealed debris, and customs officials at the port were informed that this could contain offensive material. The containers were intercepted for a detailed search.
While the initial search revealed the containers carrying marijuana, poppy and areca nut, thorough investigations revealed weapons and ammunition in all of the 10 seized containers.
The import duty levied on any scrap imported from Pakistan is 200 per cent. There is a possibility that the perpetrators were trying to evade the duty by bringing these containers to Mundra via Africa, instead of Pakistan.
