Ahmedabad: The Central government’s resolve to clamp down on illegal drug trafficking in the country resulted in another massive haul on Friday.
Acting on intelligence inputs, a joint operation was carried out and about 700 kilograms of Methamphetamine, commonly known as meth, was seized and eight Iranian nationals arrested from Indian territorial waters off the Gujarat coast.
Codenamed ‘Sagar Manthan – 4’, the operation was carried out by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Indian Navy and Gujarat Police Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).
According to an NCB statement, a vessel was identified and intercepted by the Navy by mobilising its maritime patrol assets.
Investigation is underway to identify the backward and forward linkages of the drug syndicate. NCB will take the help of foreign Drugs Law Enforcement Agencies (DLEA).
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the operation was a “stellar example” of the government’s commitment to the vision and the seamless coordination among agencies.
“Pursuing PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s vision for a drug-free Bharat, our agencies today busted an international drug trafficking cartel and seized over approx. 700 kg of contraband meth in Gujarat,” Shah wrote on X.
NCB launched Operation Sagar Manthan earlier this year by forming a team of officers of its Operations Branch and officers of Operations/Intelligence Wing of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and ATS Gujarat Police to counter the threat to national security from maritime trafficking of illicit drugs.
A number of maritime operations have resulted in agencies seizing around 3,400 kg of various narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Eleven Iranian and 14 Pakistani nationals have so far been arrested in three cases. They are all in jail awaiting trial, ANI reported.