New Delhi – Indian Navy seized an Iranian ship carrying 200kg of Afghan heroin worth 1,200 crore Rupees, and arrested six of its crew members, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Friday.
Sanjay Kumar Singh, the NCB’s Deputy Director General, who spoke to the media said that, “The NCB has now seized the vessel and 200 kg of heroin. The six Iranian crew members have also been arrested under relevant sections of the NDPS Act, 1985”. He also added that the interrogation is still going on.
Singh said that 200 packages containing the narcotic were discovered, each with markings and packing techniques specific to drug cartels with bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
According to NCB, “While some of the drug packets had ‘Scorpion’ seal markings, the others had ‘dragon’ seal markings. The drug was also packed in a waterproof seven-layered packing. Preliminary investigation revealed that the seized drug was sourced from Afghanistan and was transported to Pakistan. This consignment was then loaded into the now-seized vessel off Pakistan coast in a mid-sea exchange”.
Agency said that, the boat then sailed to Indian seas to continue delivering the consignment to a Sri Lankan ship. It also stated that attempts were made to locate and stop this Sri Lankan ship, but they were unsuccessful.
Singh said that the accused attempted to throw the shipment into the water as well as tried to jump into the ocean in an effort to flee.
According to the NCB, during the past several years, there has been a sharp upsurge in the trafficking of Afghan heroin into India via the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
Singh said, “The southern route for trafficking of heroin from Afghanistan i.e. from Afghanistan to Makran coast of Iran and Pakistan and then onwards to various countries in the Indian Ocean Region including India has gained prominence over the last few years”.
