‘Heroin was to be smuggled to Europe’

AHMEDABAD: The Rs 500 crore worth of heroin that was seized by Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in a joint operation with Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Marine Task Force (MTP) near Porbandar coast last month, was to be smuggled all the way to Europe, according to sources in ATS.

On March 27, in a mid-sea operation, about 170 nautical miles away from Porbandar coast, the ATS, ICG and MTP had arrested nine Iranians and seized 100 kilograms of the contraband from them after intercepting their dhow in Indian waters.

The intruders were aiming to transfer the heroin at Porbandar to another boat that was to come from a coastal town in Kerala. However their plans were foiled by alert officials. Faced with arrest, the smugglers set their own dhow ablaze to destroy the evidence. Risking their own lives, the ATS and ICG officials pulled out nine Iranian crew members and salvaged 100 kg of heroin from the sinking dhow.

A team of Gujarat ATS which arrested the Iranian intruders is currently at Kerala looking for evidence, said a source in the ATS. “It has been revealed during the interrogation of the arrested Iranians that the plan was to take the heroin from Porbandar to Tamil Nadu and from there to an European country. Once the Kerala link is unearthed, we can trace the source in Tamil Nadu,” an ATS official said.

The Gujarat ATS had acted on a tip-off about a dhow trying to enter Indian territory. “We caught a radio signal and traced the dhow which was carrying 100kg heroin from Pakistan by smugglers who earlier used to work for terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba,” said another ATS official.

Those arrested include Ayub Morad Baloch, 39, Amin Mohammad Dorzade, 26, Ishak Abdulrahim Dilshadi, 33, Wahid Pirmamad Baloch, 25, Ummid Musa Iranakh, 20, Taher Mauladad, 34, Shajid Umer Khuse, 20, and Dormahammad Naqib Raisi, 63, all residents of Iran.