DRI seizes 218 packets of high-grade heroin off Lakshadweep Islands coast

In a massive development, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 218 packets of 1 kg each of high-grade heroin at off the coast of Lakshadweep Islands on Friday. According to ANI, an operation was launched by DRI after it developed specific intelligence over a period of several months that two Indian boats would be sailing from the coast of Tamil Nadu and receive narcotics in huge quantities somewhere in the Arabian sea, during the second/third week of May 2022.

Upon receiving the information, a joint operation of DRI with the Indian Coast Guard, codenamed 'Operation Khojbeen', was launched on 7 May 2022. DRI informed that after several days of continuous search and monitoring amidst very rough seas, two suspected boats 'Prince' and 'Little Jesus' were noticed moving towards India. 

It added that both Indian boats were intercepted by officers of ICG and DRI on May 18, off the coast of Lakshadweep Islands. During interrogation, several crew members confessed that they had received heroin in huge quantity on the high sea and concealed it in both the boats. A thorough search of both boats was carried out at the Coast Guard District headquarters at Kochi, and 218 packets of 1 kg each of heroin were recovered. The seizure proceedings under the provisions of the NDPS Act,1985 are currently being undertaken by the DRI. 

ANI quoted DRI as saying that the operation was meticulously planned and executed by them & ICG and entailed extensive surveillance in the rough seas over a period of several days. The seized drug appears to be high-grade heroin and its value in the international illicit market is estimated to be around Rs.1,526 crore.

DRI seizes foreign cigarettes from Gujarat's Mundra Port

Earlier, on May 7, three people, including the managing director of a shipping company, were arrested by the DRI in connection with the illegal import of foreign brand filtered cigarettes having a market value of around Rs 17 crore. The agency official informed in a statement that the Ahmedabad zonal unit of DRI had on April 1 seized a container at Mundra port in Gujarat's Kutch district with 84 lakh sticks of smuggled foreign brand filtered cigarettes named 'BBM pride filter kings'.