The 232 kg contraband seized in a joint operation by the Indian Navy (IN) and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) last Monday was shipped by a Pakistan-based Punjabi drug gang. The Dubai-based vessel, which was to receive the consignment, did not turn up on time. To make matters worse, the boat developed a technical snag, making movement difficult.
A senior officer on condition of anonymity said that the selection of the boat clearly indicated that they were not regular drug suppliers. Even the drug quality was of inferior quality and so was the boat selected to transport the drug, the officer added.
Al Yazir, the Pakistani boat that was intercepted by Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy had waited in mid-sea for two and half days for the merchant vessel that was to take the delivery. At that time, it was almost at the International Maritime Boundary line, 80 to 100 nautical miles from the Karachi light house and about 200 nautical miles from Porbandar coast.
The boat had set out from Hyderi Port of Karachi on April 12 with two crewmen and 232 packets of narcotics. Six others joined them at Jawari of Ketty port. Immediately after leaving Ketty port, the boat's radiator and dynamo stopped functioning. The crew had to take shelter in a small creek a few miles from the port for two days till the captain, Mohammed Akhtar Yunus, got it repaired. They left Pakistan coast on April 14 and reached the agreed destination mid-sea on April 17. Unable to find the merchant vessel, the boat captain Mohammed Akhtar Yunus kept calling the owner, but to no avail.
By that time the boat's pumping machine went off. So the crewmen had to pump out water manually. This was learnt by the intelligence agency from the telephonic conversation between Mohammed and the drug supplier, said sources. In one such conversation Mohammed told the supplier, "The crewmen have got tired due to manually pumping out water." The conversation was in Punjabi.
Blessing in disguise?
Had the boat not been seized, it would have sunk, said sources. Thus, the joint operation by the Navy and ICG was a blessing in disguise for the crew. Sources added that the narcotics are of inferior quality and so is the packing. Had it been an 'A' grade drug, the gang would have hired a standard boat. Even the packaging would have been of better quality. Such inferior quality of drug is mostly bought in Sri Lanka, Malayasia, Thailand and Myanmar.
