Coast guard intercepts Pakistani boat with 10 crew off Gujarat coast

The Indian Coast Guard caught a Pakistani boat with 10 crew on board in Indian waters off the Gujarat coast, a state defence spokesperson said on Sunday.

The boat, named Yaseen, was caught by a coast guard ship during an operation on Saturday night, the official said.

“The Indian Coast Guard ship Ankit apprehended Pakistani boat Yaseen with 10 crew in Indian waters at Arabian Sea during night ops on January 8. Boat being brought to Porbandar for further interrogation,” the official said in a tweet.

On September 15 last year, the coast guard had in a similar operation caught a Pakistani boat with 12 crew off the Gujarat coast.

There has been a rise in cases of such boats being used to smuggle drugs through the state coast.

On December 20 last year, a Pakistani fishing boat with six crew and 77kg of heroin worth around ₹ 400 crore was caught off the Gujarat coast by the coast guard in a joint operation with the state anti-terrorist squad.