Boat with 8 Pakistani nationals and drugs seized near Porbandar coast

Mumbai: Officials believe a terror angle is unlikely in the apprehension of a Pakistani boat and eight Pakistani nationals off the Porbandar coast. Two hundred and thirty-two packets of suspected heroin, worth Rs 600 crore in the international market, were found on the intercepted boat.

The Navy and the Indian Coast Guard briefly interrogated the accused before transferring them to the local Gujarat police for further investigation.

The operation began on April 18 with the Navy ships Nirghat and Kondul, along with the Coast Guard ship ICGS Sangram following intelligence inputs about the movement of the vessel.

Later, Dornier aircraft from the ICG and IL-38 and P-8I Orion planes from the Navy also began aerial searches. The boat was finally intercepted 215 nautical miles northwest of Porbandar in the early hours of Sunday by the ICGS Sangram and INS Kondul.