Thai-Pakistan drug syndicate active off Gujarat coast

NEW DELHI: Drug smugglers operating from Thailand and Pakistan may have carried out yet another transaction in the waters off Rann of Kutch on Wednesday night or the night before, just a month after the Coast Guard and Navy seized some 230 kg of heroin worth Rs 600 crore from a boat and arrested several Pakistanis. The same gang also had a controversial stand-off with Coast Guard on December 31 when a Pakistani boat went up in flames. Latest intercepts show that the gang is very active, sources said.

According to reliable sources, the drug syndicate that is controlled from Thailand with bases in Pakistan and the Gulf region is still active in the international waters off Gujarat coast, where India and Pakistan have differing claims over their maritime boundary.

As late as last week, Indian agencies picked up credible information showing that the same syndicate was about to execute another round of transaction in the international waters. It is not clear if this transaction was completed.

The very fact that the syndicate is still active raises several questions, and some disturbing possibilities. Officials wonder why the syndicate is carrying on unperturbed despite the Coast Guard and Navy seizing a boat with 232 packets of heroin, satellite phones and GPS on April 20. Eight Pakistanis manning the boat were arrested. They were remanded in custody in Mumbai later.

Also, the "terror" boat that went up in flames on December 31, when Coast Guard ship closed in on it, too is believed to have belonged to the same syndicate. Questions still remain over the entire episode, including the death of four Pakistani crew members.

Sources say the fact that the network is still active shows that it's probably much bigger. "One boat and drugs worth a few hundred crores of rupees may not mean much to them," one official said.

As the syndicate remains under close watch, it is clear that they could be involved in smuggling drugs into international markets, most probably originating from Afghanistan.

Drug are into a boat which sails from Karachi. It's guided by a handler based in Thailand. The handler, meanwhile, also guides the pick-up boat, which often sets off from the Gulf region, most probably Dubai. The handler guides the two sides to a common point, where transaction is completed.