Dwarka: A suspicious boat with three Iranian nationals and one Indian citizen is captured off the Gujarat coast near Okha. The Devbhumi Dwarka police is probing into this.The boat had the presence of 10 gram drugs worth Rs. 5.50 lakh which has also been recovered from the boat. However, this little substance of drugs was for the personal consumption of one of the Iranians on the boat.

Giving the details of the operation the District police official said, after receiving a tip off, the Special Operation Group (SOG) and the local Crime Branch carried out a search and found a suspicious boat near the Signature Bridge area of Okha. During the course of the preliminary investigation, it was found that three Iranian men and one Indian man, hailing from Tamil Nadu, were on the boat. The accused were also in possession of approximately 10 grams of heroin valued at around five lakh rupees in the international market. Police also recovered Thuraya company’s satellite phone.

Following this investigation, the police have filed cases against these individuals under the NDPS Act, Foreigners Act, and Passport Act at the Okha Police Station. The names of the accused are Ashok Kumar Ayyappan (Indian), Mustafa, Jashir, and Amir Husain Baloch, and the fifth accused is Anand Ayyappan, who is the younger brother of Ashok.

The police have seized one Thurava satellite phone, eight mobile phones, one laptop, and some Iranian currency.

It has been learned that Ashok used to live in Muscat, and after having an altercation with his sponsor, Ashok’s Indian passport was confiscated by his employer. Subsequently, Ashok planned to enter India illegally. He received help from a local doctor, named Hussain, for which he paid around 8000 Iranian Riyal. In an attempt to return to India, Ashok first went from Muscat to Iran. There a crew of three Iranians and a boat were arranged for his journey to Okha. Another accused Anand, an Indian citizen from Tamil Nadu landed in Rajkot by air  to receive his brother Ashok off the Dwarka coast.

Further investigation is going on. DeshGujarat