Porbandar.The Indian Coast Guard intercepted and investigated a suspicious foreign boat off Porbandar, Gujarat as part of a major maritime operation. The boat was manned by an Iranian crew and a large quantity of foreign brand cigarettes being smuggled in was recovered. The market price of cigarettes is estimated to be around Rs 5 crore. This action comes after another major maritime operation that took place a few days ago. On the night of 17 February, the Indian Coast Guard along with the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad conducted a joint operation based on intelligence information. The boat has been brought to Porbandar for further investigation.
Giving information on the social media platform ‘X’, the Coast Guard said that on February 21, an Indian Coast Guard ship had intercepted a suspicious foreign boat within Indian territory, about 115 nautical miles west of Dwarka. During investigation, the boat was identified as ‘Al Mukhtar’, on which four Iranian nationals were present as crew. Upon search, 200 cartons hidden in the hold of the boat were recovered, in which about one lakh packets of foreign brand cigarettes were hidden. The captured boat and crew are being taken into custody and are being brought to Porbandar for further questioning, where a joint investigation will be conducted with other agencies.