High-seas drug haul: Ship carrying Rs 3500 crore of heroin anchored near Karachi before sailing to India – India Today

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MV Hennery anchored off Karachi before sailing to India.

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ICG officer says the contraband may have been brought on board near Karachi.

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Heroin worth Rs 3,500 crore was recovered from the ship on Sunday.

The dramatic high-seas drug bust, which turned out to be India's largest narcotics haul, may be connected to Pakistan, initial investigation conducted by the Indian Coast Guard has indicated.

On Sunday, two ICG ships apprehended a merchant vessel off the coast of Gujarat, seizing around 1,500 kilograms of heroin valued at around Rs 3,500 crore.

The ship - MV Hennery - was Panama-flagged but had anchored off Karachi port in Pakistan before sailing towards India.

While the ship's ultimate destination remains unclear, preliminary interrogation of the ship's captain, has revealed that the ship's crew was in touch with four people in India - two from Mumbai, one from Kolkata and one in Tamil Nadu.

According to a senior Coast Guard officer privy to the investigations, the ship had possibly anchored off Karachi to pick up the drugs. It remains unclear how the contraband was exactly brought on board the ship.

"The ship after starting from Abu Dhabi sailed towards Karachi but anchored at some distance off Karachi. The reason behind this could be that the drug contraband was uploaded," the officer said.

After picking up the heroin, the ship set sail for the Indian coast. All the while, the ship's eight-member crew - all Indians - was in touch with people in India. "The master of the ship was constantly in touch with two men from Mumbai. The master also contacted two more persons from Kolkata and Tamil Nadu. It is suspected that these four persons were contacted for the sale of the contraband", the ICG officer said.

However, soon after the ship Indian waters, it was apprehended by security agencies. The Indian Coast Guard, based on an intelligence input, with the help of two of its ships and a helicopter intercepted the vessel around 400 kilometers off the Gujarat coast.

The heroin recovered, the vessel was then taken to the Porbandar port and its Indian crew was placed under custody.

Investigations, including by the Narcotics Control Bureaus of Gujarat and Maharashtra, into the drug bust, which is India's largest ever, are ongoing.

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High-seas drug haul: Ship carrying Rs 3500 crore of heroin anchored near Karachi before sailing to India - India Today