AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Indian Coast Guard seized around 526 kg of heroin and methamphetamine, valued at more than Rs 3,000 crore in the international market, after intercepting an Iranian dhow in the Arabian Sea west of Lakshadweep, officials said.The operation followed intelligence received by Gujarat ATS Police Inspector J M Patel on September 10 about a suspected international narcotics deal involving a Nigerian national and associates.The intelligence indicated that an Iranian boat named Azad was being used to transport around 500 kg of methamphetamine and heroin to Indian waters, where the consignment was to be transferred to a Tamil Nadu-based boat.According to the ATS, an advance payment for the consignment had already been made through the hawala channel, while the remaining amount was to be paid after delivery.The drugs were allegedly to be unloaded along the Tamil Nadu coast and moved in smaller quantities through different vehicles before being delivered to a Nigerian national in Punjab.Following the intelligence input, senior Gujarat ATS officers alerted the Indian Coast Guard headquarters in Delhi. Under the guidance of ATS SP K Siddharth, a team comprising inspectors B H Korot and V N Vaghela was sent to Kochi, where it joined Coast Guard officers to form a joint operation team.The team subsequently sailed aboard a Coast Guard vessel and conducted surveillance and checks of suspicious boats in the maritime area.On Friday, the vessel identified through the intelligence input was located in Indian territorial waters west of Lakshadweep.The Coast Guard intercepted and stopped the dhow, following which ATS and Coast Guard personnel boarded and searched it. The vessel was subsequently brought to Mumbai on Wednesday morning.Five Pakistani nationals were found aboard the Iranian dhow — Mohammad Yakub Balochi, Shakirullah, Faridullah, Ahmed Khan and Wahidullah Khan, all residents of Peshawar, Pakistan.A search of the vessel led to the recovery of approximately 400 kg of methamphetamine and 126 kg of heroin. During preliminary questioning, the crew allegedly revealed that Azad had sailed from Konarak in Iran and that the drug consignment had been transferred to it from a small boat that had arrived from Gwadar, Pakistan.Further investigation is underway, and a case is being registered by the Gujarat ATS. Investigators are probing the international network behind the consignment, the intended recipients and the hawala transactions linked to the deal.
