New Delhi, Mar 5 (UNI) The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Mandapam, in joint operation with Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Chennai, seized 99 kg of Hashish drug worth Rs 108 crores from a country boat sailing towards Sri Lanka in the Gulf of Mannar on Tuesday. According to the official statement, officers of the DRI Chennai Zonal Unit got specific input that a gang is planning to smuggle narcotic substances from India to Sri Lanka via a coastal route near the Mandapam Sea coast. Based on the input, officers of DRI and the Indian Coast Guard mounted surveillance over the Gulf of Mannar through the Indian Coast Guard ship on the intervening nights of March 4 and 5. During the surveillance at deep sea, officers of DRI and Indian Coast Guard identified a country boat sailing towards Sri Lanka and intercepted the same after a brief hot pursuit.
On interception, personnel rummaged through the boat and found five sacks concealed inside the boat. The country boat, along with the contraband and three persons on board, were brought to Indian Coast Guard Station Mandapam in the morning for further investigation. During interrogation, they admitted that the bags packed with narcotic substances were received from a person at Pamban Coastal area, and based on his instructions, they were carrying the same for further handing over to some unknown persons from Sri Lanka who would arrive at the deep sea. On examination of seized sacks, a total of 111 packets weighing 99 kg in total containing brown colour sticky material were detected, which, on testing with a field testing kit, was found to be Hashish, an NDPS substance with an international market value of around Rs 108 crore and was seized under the NDPS Act. All four people were apprehended for further investigation.