Customs officials have seized cocaine worth over ₹200 crore from a Denmark-bound cargo ship at Paradip Port, about 150 km from here, on Thursday.
Crew members of the ship, who are all from Vietnam, have been detained and are being questioned about the source of the banned drug seized from the vessel, according to officials.
The Panama-registered ship, MV Debi, berthed at Paradip International Cargo Terminal, Paradip, and its last port of call was at Gresik port in Indonesia, they added. The vessel is operated by Asia Pacific Shipping Co. Ltd. and its destination is Denmark.
‘Smuggling route’
“Gold, wildlife souvenirs and drugs are generally smuggled through Odisha. We were on alert for the past two months. When we were tipped off that some drugs were being smuggled through a ship, we carried out a search in the ship with the help of paramilitary forces,” Madhab Chandra Mishra, Commissioner of Customs, told mediapersons on Friday.
As many as 22 packets weighing 1 kg each were retrieved from the ship. “We got the drug tested through a drug testing kit. The preliminary results showed it was cocaine. The substance will be sent to a laboratory for further tests,” Mr. Mishra said.
“As per international market price, the cocaine consignment would be worth ₹200 to ₹220 crore. The [total] weight of cocaine is 20 to 22 kg,” the Customs officer added.
