The customs department and the Odisha police on Monday deployed underwater divers to search for more illegal drugs possibly hidden in the keel and hull of a cargo ship, from where 22 packets of cocaine had been seized on December 1.
While it is almost certain that the crew members are involved in the smuggling, police have been questioning the crew for the last 11 days to ascertain any links with Odisha.
If reports are to be believed, at least 10 persons are under the scanner of the probe agencies who includes three Vietnamese crew members of the ship, six crane operators of Paradip Port and a managerial-level employee of a stevedoring agency.
However, the customs and police are yet to make any statement on the probe.
The customs officials had seized 22 packets of cocaine worth Rs 220 crore from the cargo ship MV Debi anchored at the port. The vessel had arrived from Indonesia’s Gresik port and was scheduled to depart for Denmark carrying steel plates from Odisha.
However, a crane operator first noticed some suspicious packets in the ship and informed the authorities who came with a dog squad and seized the packets containing cocaine.
The customs department has roped in two Vietnamese language interpreters after the language barrier reportedly hampered the probe.
