The Indian Coast Guard, in a joint operation with the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), has seized 526 kg of high-grade heroin and methamphetamine worth more than ₹3,000 crore from an Iranian boat/dhow in the Arabian Sea, officials said on Wednesday, 30th September. Five Pakistani nationals who were operating the vessel were also detained during the operation.
The operation was carried out on 25th September near Lakshadweep following intelligence inputs about the suspicious vessel. The Coast Guard used sea and air surveillance to track the boat before launching a hot pursuit and boarding it west of Lakshadweep.
India apprehends Pakistan nationals in a Rs 3000 Cr drug haul in Arabian sea.
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) September 30, 2026
Pictures released by Indian Coast Guard https://t.co/SHZzjTwrVi pic.twitter.com/OwppQsBYZa
The seized drugs included high-grade methamphetamine and heroin, according to the Coast Guard. The vessel, its crew and the seized contraband were later brought to Mumbai under armed escort for further investigation and legal proceedings.
Five Pakistani crew members detained
The Gujarat ATS was involved in the operation, and officials confirmed that five Pakistani nationals aboard the vessel were apprehended. The agencies are now carrying out a joint interrogation to establish the source and intended destination of the drugs and to investigate the wider network involved.
The operation comes as Indian security agencies have increased surveillance along maritime routes to prevent international drug syndicates from using the sea to move narcotics into the country.
According to the Coast Guard, the seizure could disrupt the financial network of international drug trafficking groups and prevent synthetic drugs from reaching the Indian mainland.
Coast Guard says major narco-smuggling route disrupted
The Coast Guard described the operation as an intelligence-led action involving multiple agencies. In a post on X, it said the vessel was tracked for some time before the forces boarded it.
“In an intelligence-led joint operation with ATS Gujarat and the Central Intelligence Agency, India Coast Guard units interdicted a suspicious Iranian dhow in the Arabian Sea, west of Lakshadweep. Positive detection, sustained tracking and a hot pursuit culminated in tactical boarding, successfully neutralising a major transnational narco-smuggling vector,” the Coast Guard said.
In an intelligence-led joint operation with ATS Gujarat, and Central Intelligence Agency, @IndiaCoastGuard units interdicted a suspicious Iranian dhow in the Arabian Sea, west of #Lakshadweep. Positive detection, sustained tracking and a hot pursuit culminated in tactical… pic.twitter.com/p2BthJvndS
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) September 30, 2026
It added that the operation resulted in the seizure of “526 kg of high-grade heroin and methamphetamine valued at over Rs 3,000 crore, alongside the apprehension of five Pakistani crew members.”
The Coast Guard said the vessel and its crew had been escorted to Mumbai for “multi-agency investigations and followed by prosecution.”
The agency further said, “Bharatiya Tatrakshak remains fully postured and committed to secure our maritime borders, dismantle drug syndicates to ensure Nasha Mukt Bharat, and protect the nation from transnational organised crimes.”
