526 kg of drugs seized from Iranian dhow, five Pakistanis detained
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The Coast Guard and Gujarat ATS intercepted the boat in the Arabian Sea on 25 September after a 16-day operation. The vessel and crew are in Mumbai for questioning.
Reporting as of 1 October 2026, 1.30pm IST.
The Indian Coast Guard and Gujarat ATS have seized 526 kg of drugs worth Rs 3,000 crore from an Iranian dhow in the Arabian Sea and arrested five Pakistani nationals, Deccan Chronicle, Scroll.in and Baird Maritime reported. The cargo was methamphetamine and heroin.
The boat was intercepted on 25 September 2026, west of Lakshadweep, and the seizure was announced on 30 September.
What was on the boat
Baird Maritime reports the haul split into 400 kg of methamphetamine and 126 kg of heroin. That split comes from a single source. The Rs 3,000 crore valuation appears in all three reports.
The dhow was named Azad, according to Baird Maritime, a single source. The Indian Coast Guard said it had "neutralised a transnational narco-smuggling vector", as Scroll.in quoted.
The route and the interception
Gujarat ATS DIG Sunil Joshi said the five accused "had departed from Konarak port", on the Iranian coast, Baird Maritime reported.
Baird Maritime puts the interception about 490 nautical miles southwest of Mumbai and 160 nautical miles northwest of Lakshadweep. Those positions are from a single source.
The vessel and its crew were taken to Mumbai for joint questioning.
A 16-day operation by several agencies
The operation lasted 16 days and involved the Coast Guard, Gujarat ATS and central agencies, Deccan Chronicle and Baird Maritime reported.
Baird Maritime describes it as the 15th joint anti-narcotics operation in five years. It also cites a 115 kg cocaine seizure in May 2026. Both points are from a single source; we found no wider comparison with other west-coast seizures.
What we don't know yet
- Who the intended receivers were, and which boat the drugs were to be handed to at sea.
- The names of the five arrested; the pages we opened do not confirm them.
- How the Rs 3,000 crore valuation was calculated beyond the Defence Ministry's figure, which only one outlet attributes.
The five are accused; nothing has been proved in court.
What happens next
Interrogation in Mumbai continues as agencies trace the network behind the shipment. No date has been given.
This story was produced with AI assistance and reviewed, edited and verified by the reporter before publication.
Covered by 4 outlets across the spectrum: 25% left, 25% center, 50% right.
Who is covering this story
- Left-leaning (1): Scroll.in
- Center (1): Baird Maritime
- Right-leaning (2): Deccan Chronicle, India Today
Sources
- 526 kg of drugs worth Rs 3,000 crore seized from Iranian dhow, five Pakistanis held — Scroll.in (left-leaning) ·
- 526 kg of drugs worth Rs 3,000 crore seized from Iranian dhow, five Pakistanis held — Baird Maritime (center) ·
- 526 kg of drugs worth Rs 3,000 crore seized from Iranian dhow, five Pakistanis held — Deccan Chronicle (right-leaning) ·
- Rs 3,000 crore drug haul: 5 Pakistanis sent to 12-day police custody in Ahmedabad — India Today (right-leaning) ·