The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, in a joint operation with the Indian Coast Guard, seized 29.954 kg of hashish oil worth 33 crore rupees from a tug-barge vessel sailing towards the Maldives last Friday.

DRI officers developed specific intelligence and identified a tug vessel towing a barge laden with rock boulders, which had departed from Tuticorin Old Port. It was revealed that a gang based in Tuticorin covertly loaded significant quantities of hashish oil onto the barge mid-sea during its voyage to the Maldives, with the assistance of a crew member from the vessel. At the behest of the DRI, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted the vessel on 5th March in mid-sea off the Kanyakumari coast and escorted it back to Tuticorin New Port by 7th March.

The individual responsible for placing the narcotic drug on the vessel, along with his accomplice, was apprehended. The crew member involved in sharing the vessel’s location with the gang was also apprehended for further investigation once the vessel docked.