A tip-off from a highly-confidential source, a fortnight of planning and a series of detailed briefings led to the first-of-its-kind of operation in India during which a rave party was busted in the high seas on board a cruise liner.
The case may have larger international ramifications.
This is one of the biggest operations that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has carried out in recent times.
NCB’s Director-General SN Pradhan was in touch with the federal agency’s Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede on a regular basis when the operation was planned.
Pradhan himself confirmed that a lot of planning had gone into the operation and he was happy that it was a success. "It was a cruise ship…we had to ensure that on the high seas, we should not go wrong. And it turned out to be planned to perfection," Pradhan told TV channels in New Delhi.
Wankhede, however, was tight-lipped about the operation.
The NCB in the past has carried out several drug busts in hotels, resorts, clubs, and now for the first time, a cruise liner.
The NCB made decoy teams, booked their tickets for the party and boarded the ship to carry out the operation. They immediately mingled with people and gained their confidence, before surprising the organisers with a massive raid after which they brought the ship back ashore.
Also Read | NCB raid on Mumbai cruise ship meant to divert attention from Mundra port drugs haul: Congress
“This is for the first time that a rave party is busted that too in high seas and on a cruise liner,” informed sources said, adding that the details of other cruise ships that dock at the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal need to be checked.
The tip-off came from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which looks after security of the Mumbai Port Trust.
As Mumbai Police started the raids, the Yellow Gate police station that has jurisdiction in the Mumbai port and Arabian Sea was kept in the loop.
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