Indias coast guard said Tuesday they had taken their most significant haul of illegal drugs when they stopped a fishing boat smuggling 5.5 tonnes of methamphetamine from war-torn Myanmar.An Indian Coast Guard (ICG) reconnaissance air patrol found a small fishing boat in the Andaman Sea which lies between India and troubled Myanmar operating in a suspicious manner.A coastguard vessel was sent out, with officers boarding at dawn Sunday when the fishing boat with a crew of six Myanmar citizens got in Indian territorial waters, the coastguard declaration added.The boarding celebration discovered roughly 5,500 kgs of forbidden drug methamphetamine, it read.The seizure is the biggest-ever drug haul by ICG, highlighting its dedication to securing Indian territorial waters.The boat has considering that been required to an Indian marine base.Myanmar has actually remained in chaos given that the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyis chose government in 2021 and launched a crackdown that stimulated an armed uprising.Myanmars Shan state is a leading source of synthetic drugs, much of it produced in prohibited laboratories hidden in rugged jungle areas controlled by armed groups near Thailands border.Drug producers have significantly turned to smuggling by boats to avoid tighter patrols on land paths through China and Thailand.A record 190 tonnes of methamphetamine were seized in East and Southeast Asia in 2023, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The seizure made by India might have been sold for millions of dollars on the street.However, UN specialists state mass production means the wholesale rate of methamphetamine is as low as $400 per kilogram in production areas.Source: AFP-- Agencies