Indian authorities have seized a large shipment of drugs suspected to be en route to Maldives, Sri Lanka and India.
According to Indian media, 2.5 tons of methamphetamine was found on a ship that was stopped off the coast of the southern state of Kerala.
The operation was carried out jointly by the Indian navy and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) as part of the larger Operation Samudragupt which began in January 2022.
The NCB’s deputy director general Sanjay Kumar Singh told reporters that this was the largest seizure of methamphetamine in India.
“The primary objective of the operation was to collect actionable inputs which could lead to interception of ships carrying narcotics contraband,” Singh said.
Operation Samudragupt is part of the Indian government’s plan to make India drug-free by 2047.
As part of the operation, NCB has in the past recovered drugs from the coast of Gujarat in February 2022 and another in October 2022.
The NCB has also shared intelligence with the Sri Lankan navy and Maldives police and ensured the recovery of 286kg heroin and 128kg methamphetamine by the two countries in March this year.
