The Indian Coast Guard along with the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad apprehended a fishing boat, carrying eight Pakistani nationals and 30 kg of heroin, near Kutch district's Jakhau coast on Thursday, an official statement said.
On Tuesday, an input was received regarding suspected narcotics trafficking by a Pakistani boat off the Indo-Pak notional international maritime boundary line (IMBL), the statement issued by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said.
"On receipt of input, a coordinated operation was launched swiftly by the ICG in association with ATS (anti-terrorism squad) of Gujarat," it said.
The suspected Pakistani boat was sighted inside Indian waters on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, and it was intercepted by the ICG, the statement said.
About 30 kg of heroin, approximately Rs 300 crore in value, was recovered from the boat, it said.
"Preliminary investigation revealed that the consignment being smuggled was destined for landing on a Gujarat shore. The boat and its eight-member Pakistani crew are being escorted to Jakhau for further rummaging and joint investigation," the statement mentioned.
The past one year has proved to be a big setback for drug traffickers as the ICG has successfully seized more than 1.6 tonnes of narcotics worth approximately Rs 5,200 crore, it noted.
Earlier during the day, the ICG had tweeted: "The ICG in a joint operation with ATS Gujarat apprehended Pakistani boat PFB (Pakistani Fishing Boat) NUH with 08 Pak nationals & 30 Kg of heroin off Jakhau #Guajrat close to IMBL (international maritime boundary line) in Indian waters today (sic)."
