Gujarat: Found! Rs 250 crore heroin dumped by Pakistani boat

AHMEDABAD: The BSF (Border Security Force) and Jakhau Marine Police on Sunday recovered 49 packets of approximately 50kg of heroin worth Rs 250 crore near the Jakhau port.
This contraband had been dumped in the Arabian Sea on the night of May 30 by the crew members of a Pakistani boat after they saw an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship surging towards them.
"On June 5, BSF Bhuj launched a joint search operation with Jakhau Marine Police near the Jakhau port area and recovered 49 packets of drugs (probably heroin) from Sayali creek," said a BSF officer. The packaging bears the names 'Cafe Gourmet' and 'Blue Sapphire 555', the officer added.
On the night of May 30, Coast Guard and ATS Gujarat seized a Pakistani boat named Al Noman near the international maritime boundary between Sir Creek and Jakhau Port in Kutch and detained all the seven Pakistani nationals aboard the boat.
"Assessing the situation, BSF Bhuj had foreseen that the drugs thrown into the sea by the Pakistani crew could enter the Indian side," the officer said. "Soon after this incident, BSF Bhuj was on high alert and launched continuous search operations. As a result, BSF Bhuj successfully recovered 49 drug packets."
Gujarat frontier BSF IG, G S Malik, confirmed the recovery and said that the BSF had received an input that the drugs were coming ashore and some packets might be under the sea.
"Now, police will begin an investigation into the case to ascertain whether the drugs were from the boat. Prima facie they appear to be so," said Malik.
The crew members of the boat have been identified as Mohammed Akram Baloch, Zubair Baloch, Ishak Baloch, Shahid Ali Baloch, Ashraf Baloch, Shoeb Baloch, and Shehzad Baloch. They have been booked under the provisions of the Foreigners Act and the Passports Act as they entered India without valid documents.
Now, they will be booked under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act. Sources said that the drugs were meant to be delivered to a Punjab-based drugs mafia.
The drugs were loaded from Pishukan in Gwadar district of Balochistan province of Pakistan.
The crew were given the task of ferrying the drugs by a man named Rahid Baloch, a police officer said.
The officer said that the captain of the boat was promised Rs 2 lakh and the crew members were assured of Rs 50,000 each for carrying out the smuggling mission.