NEW DELHI, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has apprehended three Sri Lankan boats carrying narcotics, including 300 kg of Heroin, and arrested 19 crew members in the Arabian Sea, confirmed an official statement on Friday.

According to the statement, five AK-47 rifles with 1,000 live rounds of ammunition were recovered from Sri Lankan fishing boat Ravihansi.

The estimated value of narcotics in the international market is approximately 3,000 crore Indian Rupees (around 4.13 billion U.S. dollars), added the ICG statement.

All the three boats along with the 19 crew were escorted to India's southern state of Kerala for further investigation.

The ICG received intelligence input on March 15, regarding suspicious boats of foreign origin likely to be engaged in drug trafficking in the Arabian sea. On receipt and corroboration of input, a swift air-sea coordinated operation by the ICG was launched immediately to detect the suspicious boats, said the statement.

On March 18, the patrolling ICG units detected three suspicious boats off Minicoy Islands and intercepted them. Post-boarding, interrogation of crew revealed inconsistent statements. On rummaging of boats, the narcotics and rifles were found, it added. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)