Four Iranian crew on boat caught with Rs 5 cr foreign cigarettes off Gujarat coast
Ahmedabad (PTI): The Indian Coast Guard has intercepted a foreign boat in the Arabian Sea off Gujarat and apprehended four Iranian nationals after seizing 200 cartons of foreign brand cigarettes valued nearly Rs 5 crore, the ICG said on Sunday.
The operation was carried out on Saturday off the Dwarka coast where a vessel, identified as Al Mukhtar and manned by four Iranian crew, was found concealing 200 cartons containing about one lakh packets of foreign brand cigarettes.
The international market value of the consignment is estimated at Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 5 crore, the ICG said in a post on X.
The boat was being escorted to Porbandar in Gujarat for further investigation and joint interrogation of the crew by security agencies, it added.
"On 21 Feb 26, @IndiaCoastGuard ship intercepted a suspicious foreign boat inside the #Indian #EEZ, approximately 115 NM west of #Dwarka. The vessel, identified as Al Mukhtar, was manned by four #Iranian crew. On rummaging, 200 cartons containing about one lakh packets of foreign brand cigarettes were discovered concealed in the holds," it said.
Earlier, the ICG and Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) in a joint operation on February 16 apprehended two Iranian nationals with more than 200 kg of suspicious narcotics off the Gujarat coast.
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Two Maoists killed in encounter with security forces in Odisha
Berhampur (Odisha) (PTI): At least two Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in a forest along the Ganjam-Kandhamal border in Odisha on Sunday, a police officer said.
The encounter took place in Karada forest area within the jurisdiction of Raikia police station in Kandhamal district, SP Harisha BC said.
The deceased have been identified as Jagesh, an area committee member, and Rashmi, a party member of the CPI (Maoists).
According to police, both had a combined bounty of Rs 27.50 lakh on their heads.
Belonging to the Kalahandi Kandhamal Boudh Nayagarh (KKBN) division of the CPI (Maoists), the deceased were very active in the district and allegedly involved in several violent incidents, police added.
Several weapons and items were seized by the security personnel from the spot, the SP said.
He said no police personnel sustained injuries in the encounter.
The encounter took place when the Maoists opened fire on the security forces, which had been conducting an anti-Maoist operation in the area over the past two days following a tip-off.
Around nine to ten ultras were present, but only two to three fired at the security forces, police said.
