Indian Coast Guard Seizes Fishing Boat for Suspected Betel Nut Smuggling
New Delhi: Indian Coast Guard officials stationed in West Bengal seized an Indian fishing boat for “smuggling betel nuts from Bangladesh,” officials said on Saturday.
They said based on intelligence inputs, an ICG boarding team was immediately dispatched to the spot where the abandoned fishing boat ‘Laxminarayan’ was reportedly found and seized.
“The boarding team conducted a thorough search of the ship and seized 52 bags of arek nuts weighing 50 kg each, making a total of 2,600 kg,” the Indian Coast Guard said in a statement. he said.
It was stated that the Fraserganj ICG Station “successfully conducted an operation on January 22” in which an Indian fishing boat was seized for “smuggling betel nuts from Bangladesh to India”.
The seized boat was later taken to Fraserganj and docked at Benfish Fishing Pier, officials said.
The boat, along with the seized contraband goods, was handed over to the Fraserganj Coast Police Station for further legal action, officials said.
The ICG said the Indian Coast Guard, in close coordination with other maritime security agencies, maintains high alert along the coastline and maritime areas to prevent illegal activities and smuggling by anti-national elements.
He added that ICG remains committed to protecting the country’s security and economic interests.
