India heroin bust: Coastguard seizes 1,500kg of drugs
- Published
India's proximity to Afghanistan means it is part of a drugs transit route (file photo)
Indian authorities have seized a massive 1,500kg (3,300lb) haul of heroin from a ship off the coast of the western state of Gujarat.
The narcotics were found on a merchant vessel, and were worth almost $550m (拢420m), a statement from the coastguard said.
Navy spokesman D K Sharma described it as "the largest single haul of narcotics to date".
The vessel has now been taken to the western city of Porbandar.
India is part of a transit route in the lucrative drug smuggling trade, due to its proximity to Afghanistan, which is the world's largest producer of opium - the main ingredient in heroin.
says large shipments of Afghan heroin are smuggled across the Indian Ocean to east and southern Africa.
India has a serious heroin problem in the northern state of Punjab.
A study suggests that more than 860,000 men between the ages of 15 and 35 there take some form of drugs, with heroin afflicting 53% of addicts.
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