Two Iranians nabbed with more than 200 kg of chemical substance off Gujarat coast

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Coast Guard have apprehended two Iranian nationals with more than 200 kg of a chemical substance in the high seas off the Gujarat coast, an official said on Tuesday.

The ATS received a tip-off regarding a suspected chemical being brought within Indian waters near the international maritime boundary line (IMBL), around 140 nautical miles from the Porbandar coast, ATS Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sunil Joshi said.

In a joint operation with the Coast Guard lasting eight to 10 hours, two Iranian nationals were apprehended with 203 packets of suspected chemicals around 8 pm on Monday, he said.

The suspected chemical substance was being bought on a speed boat, prima facie, from Iran, and was to be handed over to a person from Punjab, the official said.

The speed boat was seized, and packets containing white powder were brought to the Porbandar coast guard station for further forensic analysis, he said.

In April last year, the ATS and the Coast Guard had seized 300 kg of drugs worth Rs 1,800 crore dumped in the Arabian Sea by smugglers before fleeing across the international boundary line.