New Delhi: Indian Coast Guard (ICG) authorities stationed in West Bengal have confiscated an Indian fishing boat for “smuggling betel nuts from Bangladesh,” officials said on Saturday, January 24.
Based on intelligence inputs, an ICG boarding team was immediately deployed to the reported spot, where the abandoned fishing boat ‘Laxminarayan’ was located and confiscated, they said.
“The boarding party carried out a thorough rummaging of the vessel and recovered 52 bags of betel nuts, each weighing 50 kg, amounting to a total seizure of 2,600 kg,” the Indian Coast Guard said in a statement.
The ICG Station, Fraserganj, “successfully conducted an operation on January 22,” leading to the seizure of an Indian fishing boat for “smuggling betel nuts from Bangladesh to India,” it said.
The seized boat was subsequently escorted to Fraserganj and berthed at Benfish Fishing Jetty, officials said.
The boat, along with the seized contraband, has been handed over to the Coastal Police Station, Fraserganj, for further legal proceedings, they said.
The Indian Coast Guard, in close coordination with other maritime security agencies, maintains a high state of alert along the coastline and in maritime areas to prevent illegal activities and smuggling by anti-national elements, the ICG said.
The ICG remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding the nation’s security and economic interests, it added.
