The Indian Coast Guard has seized drugs worth more than $300 million from an Iranian dhow in the Arabian Sea and detained five Pakistani crew members.
Troops taking part in an intelligence-led joint operation intercepted "a suspicious Iranian dhow in the Arabian Sea, west of Lakshadweep” after sustained tracking and a “hot pursuit”, the Indian agency said on Wednesday.
The operation was carried out jointly with Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad and the Central Intelligence Agency, the Coast Guard added.
The 526-kilogram haul of drugs, described as heroin and methamphetamine, was valued by the Coast Guard at about $312 million.
The Coast Guard said the Iranian vessel and five detained Pakistani crew members were taken to Mumbai for further investigation and prosecution.
The agency published a video showing a boat in pursuit of the wooden dhow, before armed personnel board it and extract bundled packages from the hull as men with their hands raised are seated on the deck.
Details of the origin of the drugs, their intended destination or the wider network behind the shipment have not yet been disclosed.
The interception took place in the Arabian Sea west of the Lakshadweep archipelago, an area that has featured in previous Indian drug seizures. The agency said the operation was part of efforts to disrupt maritime narcotics trafficking and organised crime.
The seizure highlights a known maritime trafficking route across the Arabian Sea, with dhows carrying narcotics from the Makran coast of Iran and Pakistan towards India and beyond.
The waterway is a transit point for drugs originating elsewhere, particularly Afghanistan.
