Surat: In a groundbreaking operation, Surat's Special Operations Group (SOG) and the PCB team successfully thwarted a smuggling operation that tried to bring in a whopping 9.590 kg of high-quality Afghani charas valued at Rs 4.79 crore via the sea route. The crackdown, forming a part of the "Surat City Mein Nasha Nahi" campaign, shines a light on the burgeoning trend of using sea routes for drug trafficking, especially given the crackdown on road and railway routes.

Police Commissioner of Surat, Ajaykumar Tomar, lauded the authorities for their first-ever seizure of such a massive amount of narcotics from the Surat coastline. Over the years, the coastal areas have seen heightened patrolling and stringent checks on fishermen and landing points. Acting on a tip, authorities discovered a hidden stash: a small yellow mini bag concealed amidst the shrubs on Hazira Sunwali beach. The bag, intended for unlawful trade benefits, contained nine airtight packages, each weighing over a kilogram. Strikingly, the packaging bore Afghan origin marks, with labels written in Arabic and indicative tags of "Afghan product."

"This significant find not only indicates the pure quality and high value of the charas but also underscores the elaborate schemes smugglers are employing to penetrate our defenses," remarked Commissioner Tomar. He further added that investigations are underway to trace the origins and delivery mechanics of how the illicit drugs reached Suvali's coast. Collaborative efforts with the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and other agencies have been ramped up.

While the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) preliminarily identified the substance as "high-quality Afghani charas," legal procedures are advancing swiftly. Hazira police station has registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.