Pakistan Boat With Drugs, Satellite Phones Intercepted Off Gujarat Coast

NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard have in a joint operation, intercepted a Pakistani boat off the coast of Porbandar on Monday and seized heroin and satellite phones from it, sources have said. Very few details about the operation have been shared so far, but terror links have reportedly been ruled out.

The boat reportedly had eight men on board, who have been arrested. The vessel is being towed to Porbander.
There are media reports that the boat had about 140 kg of heroin on board, but that has not been confirmed. The contraband is being analysed.

The boat, sources said, was being monitored for a few days based on intelligence inputs. It was intercepted yesterday in an operation that involved two Indian Navy ships, one Coast Guard ship and the Navy’s surveillance aircraft, Dornier.

A press conference by senior Coast Guard officials is expected later in the day on the operation.

That Pakistani fishing boat was intercepted on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1, about 365-km off the Porbander coast. The government said that the boat, laden with explosives, ignored warnings to stop and allow a search, and that the four-man crew hid below deck before setting the vessel on fire, causing it to explode and sink.

The coast guard officer – who has since been removed from his post and faces a board of inquiry – was seen saying on video that he had ordered an attack on the boat as it approached Indian waters. His remarks had caused a furore that forced Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to clarify that the government’s stand remained unchanged.

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Source:Ndtv

Pakistan boat