NEW DELHI: In a joint operation on Friday, the Indian Navy and Sri Lankan navy seized approximately 500kg of crystal methamphetamine from two boats in the Arabian Sea.
The boats, along with their crew and the seized narcotics are being handed over to Sri Lankan authorities for further investigation and legal action.
This operation came days after a record-breaking drug seizure by India’s Coast Guard earlier this week. On Tuesday, the Coast Guard announced its largest-ever haul of illicit drugs, intercepting a fishing boat carrying 5.5 tonnes of methamphetamine from Myanmar.
The suspicious vessel was first spotted in the Andaman Sea by an Indian Coast Guard reconnaissance air patrol. A coastguard ship was dispatched, and officers boarded the boat at dawn on Sunday after it entered Indian territorial waters.
The vessel, crewed by six Myanmar nationals, was found to be carrying 5,500 kg of methamphetamine, marking the largest drug seizure in the history of the Indian Coast Guard.
The boat has since been moved to an Indian naval base for further action.