Narcotics in Pakistani boat may have been to fund terror

NEW DELHI: Government officials suspect that narcotics worth hundreds of crores found in a Pakistani boat seized off Gujarat coast earlier this week was perhaps meant to finance terror with institutional backing even as Islamabad has blamed New Delhi for not sharing information on the vessel.

Government sources told ET that while it is too early to say whether cross-border terror groups had any sinister design and that interrogation of the crew members only could reveal the truth, the motive behind smuggling drugs could have been to finance terror. Indian Navy and Coast Guard had in a joint operation seized a boat carrying 232 kg of heroin, with estimated street value of Rs 600 crore, and eight Pakistani crew members from international waters off Gujarat coast on Monday.

In an earlier incident, on December 31, a Pakistani fishing boat burst down after an Indian Coast Guard vessel chased it down. The vessel was suspected to be carrying explosives and terrorists on board. A senior government official said both the newly seized boat and the earlier vessel that blew itself up had alleged institutional backing from Pakistan.

Some media reports claimed that both boats had the same handlers.

Both police and intelligence agencies will interrogate the eight crew members found on board. Diplomatic sources told ET that two incidents involving Pakistani boats within a span of five months indicate motive and design of encouraging terror. Indian security agencies, however, are yet to gather such information and are now trying to ascertain the entire picture and intention of these boats, sources said.