Nine persons including three main suspects were arrested after drugs worth ₹350 crore was seized from a fishing boat in Gujarat’s Veraval port in Gir-Somnath district, Gujarat police said.

The accused are suspected to be part of an international drug cartel, said a senior police official.

“The Gujarat Police has achieved another major success in its campaign against drug trafficking - seizing drugs worth ₹350 crore in a raid near Veraval port,” Harsh Sanghavi, minister of state (MoS) for home wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“A joint operation by the special operations group (SOG) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) successfully intercepted a consignment of 50 kilograms of heroin packed in packets, with an estimated total value of ₹350 crore,” he further wrote in his post.

“This operation, conducted jointly and successfully by the SOG and NDPS teams, resulted in the apprehension of 9 accused, including three main suspects,” he said.

Manoharsinh Jadeja, SP for Gir-Somnath, stated that the police had prior information regarding the accused individuals who had embarked on a sea journey approximately 25 days ago to receive the consignment, utilising a fishing boat for the narcotics trade.

Jadeja said that the accused are being interrogated and Gir-Somnath police had recovered a satellite phone from the accused.

“They are a part of an international drugs cartel. We may be able to share more details after interrogating them,” said Jadeja.

Source: Hindustan Times