Indian Navy apprehends 500 kgs of drugs after tip-off from Sri Lanka

The Indian Navy has apprehended a Sri Lankan fishing vessel with 500 kgs of narcotics.

The Navy on Friday said the operation was based on information received from the Sri Lankan Navy regarding probable narcotics smuggling by Sri Lankan flagged fishing vessels in the Arabian Sea.

Extensive surveillance was undertaken by Indian Naval long range maritime patrol aircraft, the Boeing P8I and also UAVs.

The information was also collated from  inputs generated at the Information Fusion Centre (Indian Ocean Region), Gurugram.

An Indian Naval ship was deployed to augment efforts.

Two fishing boats were identified based on continuous inputs from the Sri Lankan Navy and aerial surveillance by Indian Navy aircraft. Subsequently, in a closely coordinated operation Indian Navy teams boarded  both boats on November 24 -25, leading to the seizure of approximately 500 kg of narcotics (Crystal Meth).

The two boats, along with crew and seized narcotics, are being handed over to Sri Lankan authorities for further legal action.