In a joint operation, sleuths of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai Zone and Indian Coast Guard personnel intercepted a country boat in Gulf of Mannar and seized 99 kg of hashish being smuggled to Sri Lanka in the wee hours of Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
Consequently, four persons were nabbed for further interrogation.
Based on a specific intelligence input, the agencies mounted surveillance and intercepted the unregistered boat after a brief hot pursuit, a statement said.
After the officials found three persons sailing in the boat with five sacks concealed in the boat, the boat was brought to the Coast Guard Station at Mandapam for further investigation.
During interrogation, they reportedly admitted they had received narcotic substance from a person at Pamban coastal area. As per his instruction, they were carrying the drugs for handing it over to some unidentified persons in the deep sea.
The officials found 111 packets, weighing 99 kgs in total, of brown sticky material, which was tested to be hashish, a narcotic substance.
In a swift operation, the DRI officials arrested the man who had supplied the drug. Preliminary investigation reveals that the seized drugs were transported from different parts of the country for further transportation to Sri Lanka by country boats.
