Indian authorities detained six Pakistani nationals and recovered tens of millions of dollars worth of heroin from a Pakistani fishing boat in the Arabian Sea close to the western state of Gujarat.
On Saturday, Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) official in Gujarat state, Deepan Bhadran, described the Friday night raid and said, “The heroin seized was smuggled from Afghanistan and the Pakistani men arrested are being questioned to understand the modus operandi.”
According to Indian media reports, an official tells that the 50kg of heroin was valued at 3.5 billion Indian rupees ($42 million) on the street.
Authorities in Pakistan were unable to react to the arrests right away.
Due to its connectivity to Afghanistan, the world’s largest supplier of opium, from which heroin is manufactured, India is a stop along a transit route in the lucrative drug smuggling trade.
ATS officers sent out two interceptor-class ships to monitor the boat in Indian seas together with a crew from the Indian Coast Guard following intelligence information.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, large quantities of Afghan heroin are allegedly being trafficked over the Indian Ocean to east and southern Africa.