Cops recover 87 packets of charas worth over Rs 40 Cr washed up on Gujarat sea coast

PTI, Jun 18, 2024, 9:12 AM IST

Representative image

Ahmedabad: As many as 87 packets of charas have been recovered in Gujarat’s Kutch and Porbandar districts after they got washed up on the sea coast in the last few days, the latest in a series of such seizures in the state, police said.

Of these, 81 packets of charas valued at more than Rs 40 crore were recovered in Kutch district in the last three-four days — 40 of them on Monday alone, they said.

Separately, police in Porbandar recovered half-a-dozen packets of the cannabis from the coastal village of Odadar on Monday.

More than 200 packets of narcotics have been found washed ashore in the coastal districts of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Porbandar in the last few days as police intensified operations to search for them using drones and human intelligence.

Police on Monday recovered 40 packets of charas from near the sea coast in Mandvi taluka of Kutch district.

With this, the number of charas packets found from areas such as Nal Sarovar, Jakhau and Mandvi in the last three days has risen to 81 and the contraband seized is estimated to cost Rs 40 crore, Kutch (West) Superintendent of Police Mahendra Bagadiya said on Monday.

A few days ago, the Kutch police also recovered abandoned packets containing banned drug methamphetamine.

Packets containing narcotic substances have got washed ashore along with waves due to favourable wind conditions after likely being dumped by smugglers in the deep sea over the fear of being caught, police said.

After the latest seizures, police have registered cases against unidentified persons under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The Devbhumi Dwarka police on Sunday said as many as 115 packets containing 124 kg charas valued at Rs 62 crore were found washed up on the sea coast in the district over 10 days.