A joint operation by the Indian Navy and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) led to the seizure of nearly 2,500 kg of methamphetamine worth around Rs 12,000 crore from a vessel off the coast of Kerala in Indian waters. This marks the largest methamphetamine seizure in India, and a Pakistani national was arrested in connection with it. The operation, dubbed ‘Operation Samudragupt,’ targeted maritime drug trafficking originating from Afghanistan.
The methamphetamine shipment was destined for India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, and was discovered on a “mother ship” off the Makran coast. The intercepted boat, 134 sacks of suspected methamphetamine, and other items were brought to Mattancherry Wharf by the Navy and handed over to the NCB. The agency initiated seizure procedures, and primary analysis showed that all of the packets contained high-purity methamphetamine.
This is the third major seizure of drug trafficking via the southern route in the last year and a half as part of Operation Samudragupt. In February 2022, NCB and the Navy seized 529 kg of hashish, 221 kg of methamphetamine, and 13 kg of heroin from the high seas off the coast of Gujarat. In October 2022, an Iranian boat was intercepted off the coast of Kerala, and 200 kg of high-grade heroin, also sourced from Afghanistan, was seized along with six Iranian drug traffickers.
Real-time actionable information generated during the operation was shared with Sri Lanka and the Maldives, leading to the seizure of hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine and the arrest of 19 drug traffickers in two operations conducted by the Sri Lankan Navy in December 2022 and April 2023.