In one of the major drug hauls in recent times with ramifications of narco-terrorism, the Indian Coast Guard seized more than 100 kilos of heroin in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. The drug was recovered from a Sri Lankan boat which had received the consignment from a dhow in Karachi.
While investigations are on, officials said here the haul was the result of nearly nine day long operation. It ended in the seizure in the high seas south of Thoothukudi. Six crew members, reportedly Sri Lankan nations, were detained and their questioning was on, they added. Officials from various agencies were now questioning the detained crew.
Preliminary probe indicated that the crew members told the Coast Guard the contraband was transferred to the Sri Lankan vessel Shenya Duwa on the high seas near Karachi by a Pakistani dhow. The consignment was to be ferried to western countries and Australia, sources said.
It was suspected Pakistan was sending the consignment to fund terrorism in several nations. The Lashkar-e-Tayyaba(LeT) and the Hizbul Mujahideen(HM)in the past used narcotics to fund their terror campaign in Kashmir.
The search of the Sri Lankan boat also led the Coast Guard to the recovery of five 9mm pistols and a satellite phone set. Moreover, the contraband was concealed in an empty fuel tank on the boat, officials said.
The seizure on Wednesday was carried out by Coast Guard (ICG) ship Vaibhav. Other ships of the force including Vikram, Samar, Abhivav and Aadesh and a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft were also involved in anti-smuggling operations, despite rough sea conditions.
A similar seizure was conducted by the Coast Guard last year and foiled an attempt by Pakistan to smuggle heroin worth over `500 crore.
The narcotics were recovered from a boat in October last year off Porbandar.
After being intercepted, the boat crew set the vessel afire and also tried to destroy the drugs. The Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Gujarat police arrested nine Iranians from the boat, the officials said.
The Iranian boat was loaded off the Gwadar port in Pakistan. Occupants of the boat set it ablaze as the Coast Guard and ATS personnel closed in. The boat sank off the Gujarat coast near Porbandar.
The interrogation of the detained crew revealed one Pakistani national named Hamid Malek had sent the consignment, which was loaded in the Iranian boat off Gwadar port of Pakistan.
The seizure came about after the ATS had received a tip-off that an Iranian boat will make an attempt to smuggle in heroin along the Gujarat coast.
The ATS contacted the Coast Guard and the Marine Task Force of the Gujarat police to launch an operation.