Ahmedabad, February 17 The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Coast Guard have apprehended two Iranians who "daringly" navigated a speedboat from Iran to Indian waters, attempting to smuggle over 200 kg of a suspected narcotic drug, officials said.
Acting on information shared by the Gujarat ATS, an Indian Coast Guard ship was diverted to intercept a foreign boat suspected of engaging in illicit drug trafficking on Monday night, a defence release stated.
"A thorough search of the boat led to the recovery of 203 packets, each weighing approximately 1 kg, containing a crystalline substance suspected to be narcotic drugs," it said.
Speaking to reporters, ATS Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sunil Joshi said that an Iranian speedboat was intercepted, about 140 nautical miles in the Arabian Sea, off the Porbandar coast, near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
As many as 203 packets containing a white substance were seized from the boat, and it was ruled out to be heroin in a drug kit test, and will be further analysed by forensic experts.
The official said prima facie, it appears that the accused, Abdul Majid and Abdul Sattar, both residents of Chabahar in Iran, had travelled all the way from their home country on the speedboat.
"The manner in which they travelled so far in a speedboat is quite daring. According to our information, these packets were to be received by a person from Punjab, and an investigation is underway in this regard," he said.
The official said that the ATS had received a tip-off that Iranian drug smuggler Haji Fida had dispatched a consignment of a suspected chemical substance from Konarak Port in Iran, to be delivered mid-sea to an Indian vessel.
The DIG pointed out that travelling on a speedboat from a faraway place like Iran was rare, with only two such cases reported in the last four years.
"Iranian smugglers have developed a new modus operandi, as speedboats have a higher chance of evading Coast Guard vessels," he said.
Joshi said that two phones were found on the accused, and the probe agency is hoping to get more information from the data on the devices.
The language barrier is proving to be a challenge for establishing initial communication with the Iranians, he said.
