Iranian boat 'Azad' carrying 526 kg drugs had Pakistan-to-Tamil Nadu delivery plan

An Iranian dhow that was intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard carrying 526 kg of narcotics worth Rs 3,000 crore in the Arabian Sea had plan to deliver the consignment from Pakistan to India's southern state Tamil Nadu, Gujarat ATS DIG Sunil Joshi said on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad, Joshi said the operation was launched after the Gujarat ATS received information about a long-wanted accused from Gujarat who had allegedly contacted a Nigerian national in connection with bringing a large consignment of narcotics into India. "On September 10, Police Inspector JM Patel of the Gujarat ATS received information that a long-wanted accused from Gujarat had contacted a Nigerian national; at the latter's behest, the Nigerian had met an individual in Gujarat," Joshi said. Based on the intelligence, the ATS learnt that a consignment of more than 500 kg of narcotics was to be brought into India on the Iranian boat "Azad". Joshi said an advance payment had also been transferred in connection with the alleged operation. "The final intelligence indicated that five accused had departed from the vicinity of the Konarak port on the Iranian coast, and a smaller boat had approached the 'Azad' off the coast of Gwadar, Pakistan, to deliver the narcotics consignment," he said. The Gujarat ATS subsequently coordinated with the operations wing of the Coast Guard headquarters and formed a joint team. Due to technical reasons, the team was deployed from Kochi, Joshi said. The operation continued for approximately 17 days across a vast maritime area. On September 25, the suspected boat was spotted approximately 160 nautical miles northwest of Lakshadweep and 490 nautical miles southwest of Mumbai. The vessel was intercepted and searched, following which the boat and the apprehended persons were brought to the Mumbai coast for further investigation. The detainees have been identified as Mohammad Yaqub Baluchi, Shakirullah, Faridullah, Ahmed Khan and Wahidullah Khan, all residents of Pakistan. According to the ATS official, the accused had commenced their sea journey from Konarak port. A small fishing boat from Gwadar allegedly approached Azad and loaded the narcotics consignment onto the vessel. The accused were subsequently tasked with delivering the shipment to a boat from Tamil Nadu, Joshi said. "Interrogation revealed that the total consignment weighed 526 kg, comprising approximately 400 kg of methamphetamine and 126 kg of heroin," he said.