New Delhi: The Indian Coast Guard and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested a gang of international smugglers while they were trying to smuggle around 218 kg of heroin worth Rs 1,526 crore off the Lakshadweep coast. The operation, codenamed Operation Khojbeen, was carried out by the agencies off Agatti coast in Lakshadweep.
The narcotics were seized from two fishing boats named "Prince" and "Little Jesus", said the Indian Coast Guard.
In a statement, the DRI said the operation was launched after it received intelligence over a period of several months that two Indian boats would be sailing from the coast of Tamil Nadu and receive narcotics in large quantity somewhere in the Arabian Sea during the second or third week of May.
After several days of search and monitoring, two suspected boats 'Prince' and 'Little Jesus' were noticed moving towards India. Both the boats were intercepted by Coast Guard and DRI officers on May 18 off the coast of Lakshadweep Islands.
Both the boats were then brought to the Coast Guard District Headquarters in Kochi and 218 packets of heroin weighing 1 kg each were recovered. Searches at various other locations and further investigation are going on, the statement further said.
"The operation was meticulously planned and executed by the DRI and ICG and entailed extensive surveillance in the rough seas over a period of several days. The seized drug appears to be of high-grade heroin and its value in the international illicit market is estimated to be around Rs 1,526 crore," the statement said.
This is the fourth major drug haul by the DRI in the past one month. On April 30, the DRI had recovered 205.6 kg heroin from a commercial import consignment of gypsum powder at the Kandla port. It had also seized 396 kg of yarn laced with heroin at Pipavav port on April 29 and 62 kg heroin at Air Cargo Complex, IGI Airport in New Delhi on May 10.
(With inputs from PTI)