The Indian Coast Guard and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad seized approximately 526 kg of heroin and methamphetamine from an Iranian dhow west of Lakshadweep on September 25, 2026. Five Pakistani nationals operating the vessel were apprehended, the Defence Ministry said on September 30. Authorities valued the consignment at more than Rs 3,000 crore. The boat, crew and seized material were taken under armed escort to Mumbai for joint questioning and further legal proceedings.
Home Minister Amit Shah placed the interception in India's Exclusive Economic Zone, 160 nautical miles northwest of Lakshadweep and 490 nautical miles southwest of Mumbai. His ministry described a 16-day operation running from September 14 to 30, involving central intelligence agencies as well as the Coast Guard and Gujarat ATS. Investigators were seeking the wider trafficking network and intended receivers, according to the ministry's account of the operation.
The Indian Express reported additional details from the ATS investigation. Police identified the dhow as Azad and said intelligence received on September 10 concerned an order for roughly 500 kg of drugs. Investigators alleged that an advance had moved through hawala channels and the balance was due after delivery. The reported plan involved transferring the cargo to a Tamil Nadu-based boat in the Mumbai-Kochi-Lakshadweep region.
According to the investigators quoted by the newspaper, Azad had left Konarak in Iran and received the consignment from another vessel arriving from Gwadar in Pakistan. Preliminary questioning indicated a split of about 400 kg of methamphetamine and 126 kg of heroin. The ATS alleged that the drugs were to be landed along the Tamil Nadu coast and moved in smaller road consignments to a Nigerian recipient in Punjab.
