Drugs worth Rs 2500 Cr seized near Kerala coast

NCB seizure part of Operation Samudragupt targeting maritime trafficking of drugs from Afghanistan

geetanjali

Geetanjali Minhas | May 14, 2023 | Mumbai


#NCB   #Indian Navy   #Crime   #Drugs   #Afghanistan   #Pakistan  
NCB and Naval teams with the seized drugs
NCB and Naval teams with the seized drugs

In one of the biggest operations of its kind, drugs worth Rs 2500 crore have been confiscated by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) near the Kerala coast.

NCB in a joint operation with the Intelligence Wing of Indian Navy, intercepted a Mother Ship, carrying 134 sacks of high purity Methamphetamine from Makran Coast estimated to be around around 2500 kg the least.

The seizure is part of Operation Samudragupt targeting maritime trafficking of drugs originating from Afghanistan. The intercepted speed boat was occupied by one person suspected to be a Pakistani national. The vessel along with sacks, other items salvaged from the mother ship and that person were brought to Mattancherry Wharf, Cochin on May 13 and handed over to NCB for further action. NCB said that the source of the drug was ‘Death Crescent’ (the regions in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran are termed as a death crescent because most of the contraband smuggled into the country comes from these three countries).

Mother ships are large sea going vessels carrying large quantities of narcotic contrabands for distribution to receiving vessels over the route.

After receiving a tip-off the team kept a close watch on inputs and shared the details with Indian Navy after which an Indian Naval Ship was deployed in the vicinity.

Anticipating threat to national security from maritime trafficking of Heroin and other drugs over the maritime route in Indian Ocean region, Director General, NCB launched Operation Samudragupt headed by Sanjay Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Ops), NCB and officers of Operations Branch of NCB Headquarters in January 2022.

The team took the help of drug law enforcement agencies such as DRI, ATS Gujarat etc. as well as intelligence agencies like the Intelligence Wing of Indian Navy, NTRO etc.

In February 2022, a joint team of NCB and Indian Navy had seized 529 kg of Hashish, 221kg of Methamphetamine and 13kg of Heroin in the high seas off the coast of Gujarat sourced from Baluchistan and Afghanistan.

Further consistent efforts and round the clock surveillance by the team resulted in the interception of an Iranian boat off the coast of Kerala in a joint operation by NCB and Indian Navy in the month of October, 2022. A total of 200kg of high-grade Heroin sourced from Afghanistan was seized and six Iranian drug traffickers were arrested in the operation.

In another operation NCB shared real time actionable information generated during the course of Operation Samudragupt with Sri Lanka and Maldives which resulted in seizure of 286kg of Heroin and 128kg of Methamphetamine with arrest of 19 drug traffickers in two operations conducted by Sri Lankan Navy in the months of December 2022 and April 2023 and 4kg of Heroin with arrest of 5 drug traffickers by Maldivian Police in March, 2023.

So far approximately 3200 kg Methamphetamine, 500kg of Heroin and 529 kg of Hashish has been seized in the operation by NCB.

Comments

 

Other News

Maharashtra Aggregator Cabs Policy flawed: IFAT

On May 21, 2025, Maharashtra issued a government resolution (GR) on its Aggregator Cabs Policy 2025 to formalize the largely unregulated sector. The guidelines outline the framework on ride cancellations, surge pricing, driver earnings, among others for app based services like Ola, Uber. Now, the Indian Fe

The Northeast the most diverse region of our diverse nation: PM

Prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rising North East Investors Summit 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on Friday. Welcoming the dignitaries to the event, the PM expressed pride, warmth, and immense confidence in the future of the North East region. He recalled the recent Ashtalakshmi Mahot

MMRDA proposes formation of Fare Fixation Committee for Metro Lines 2A & 7

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has proposed the constitution of a Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) for Mumbai Metro Lines 2A and 7, currently operated by Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Limited (MMMOCL). ‘Fare Fixation’ is mandated under Section 33

‘Op Sindoor not an act of revenge, but a new form of justice’

Emphasizing that Operation Sindoor was not an act of revenge, but a new form of justice, prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday remarked that it was not just an expression of outrage but a display of India`s unwavering strength and determination. He asserted that the nation has adopted a bold approach, s

An ode to the enduring legacy of India’s temple culture

Dynasties of Devotion: The Secrets of 7 Iconic Hindu Temples By Deepa Mandlik (Translated from the Marathi by Aboli Mandlik) HarperCollins, 232 pages, Rs 399

How to improve India’s crèche system

India stands at a pivotal moment, caught between the promise of a demographic dividend and the crisis of gender inequality. While falling fertility rates, rising female education, and increasing labour force participation signal progress, policymakers continue to neglect one of the most invisible yet vital

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now



Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter