In an overnight joint operation during the intervening night of 11-12 March, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), based on intelligence inputs, apprehended a Pakistani boat with six crew and narcotics worth about Rs 480 crore.
The boat was apprehended about 350 km from Porbandar in the Arabian Sea in a sea-air coordinated operation, a press release said.
The ICG, on specific intelligence input from agencies, strategically positioned its ships in the Arabian Sea on Monday. The ICG also tasked its Dornier aircraft to scan and locate the boat in likely areas.
After an exhaustive search, the ICG ships, with teams of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Gujarat, arrived at the location and identified the boat which was moving suspiciously in the dark.
On being challenged by ICG ships, the boat started evasive manoeuvring, but was deftly chased and forced to stop.
During preliminary checks and investigations, it was found to be a Pakistani boat, carrying nearly 80 kg of drugs worth about Rs 480 crore. The boat had six Pakistani crew.
The boat, along with crew, has been apprehended and is being brought to Porbandar for further investigation.