A Pakistani boat loaded with 145 kg heroin was seized by a joint team of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard off the coast of Porbandar on Monday evening. The team which intercepted the boat also nabbed 8 smugglers from the vessel.
Official sources in the Coast Guard said that a boat was seized off Gujarat coast and operation is still going on. “The boat will be brought to Gujarat coast by Tuesday afternoon and only after that things will be clear,” said the official. He, however, didn’t divulge about the people on-board.
The presence of a Pakistani boat in Indian waters is being taken seriously against the backdrop of the suicidal blast of a fishing boat belonging to Pakistan off the Gujarat coast on December 31, 2014. The Pakistani vessel was reportedly intercepted and chased by Indian Coast Guard off the Porbandar coast.
The ICG ship ‘Sangram’, a Samar- class off shore patrol vessel intercepted the boat around 150 nautical miles off Porbandar coast, officials said. A joint team of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard conducted the operation after an intelligence report that a Pakistani boat allegedly loaded with weapons was heading towards the Indian shores.
The two boats ‘Fatima’ and ‘Fiza’ were seen close to Porbandar coast and during the search on ‘Fiza’, the officials found the contraband.