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In a coordinated air-sea operation, the Indian Coast Guard has seized more than five tonnes of synthetic narcotic contraband (initial testing indicates Methamphetamine), off the Andaman and Nicobar islands, WION has learnt.

The suspicious foreign-origin fishing vessel was identified and tracked by an Indian Coast Guard Dornier-228 maritime surveillance aircraft, following which fast patrol vessels were tasked to intercept and apprehend it. 

The foreign-origin vessel with six foreign crew members was apprehended in the Andaman Sea in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone and has been taken to Port Blair for further investigation.

Port Blair houses the Joint Command of the Indian Armed Forces, which is the country's only tri-services(Army, Navy, Air Force) command, and the regional headquarters of the Indian Coast Guard's Andaman and Nicobar Command.

There are more than 550 islands of varying sizes in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, making it a highly challenging region to monitor for illegal activities.

The latest seizure of contraband comes barely a few days after India conducted its largest-ever Maritime Security drill Exercise Sea Vigil-2024.

The exercise involved the Indian tri-services, six central ministries, and 21 law enforcement agencies from the state and central levels. 

The latest operation was carried out amid harsh weather at sea, owing to the storm that is brewing in the Bay of Bengal, off India's East Coast.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the well-marked low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining East Equatorial Indian Ocean concentrated into a depression at 8.30 am Indian Standard Time, Monday, 25th November.

In Meteorological parlance, depression is associated with stormy weather, gusty winds, and rough sea conditions. 

This is the single largest contraband seizure in the nearly five-decades-long history of the Indian Coast Guard, which has been at the forefront of maritime law enforcement in India's Exclusive Economic Zone that is spread across 2.4 million square kilometres.

For context, the Indian Coast Guard's annual seizure of contraband (all kinds of drugs) usually hovers between 1-1.5 tonnes.

However, in the latest operation, 5 tonnes were seized in a single day, from a single vessel, making it unprecedented. 

Based on estimates from previous Meth seizures, it can be said that the latest Meth consignment weighing more than 5 tonnes could have a market value running into billions of US dollars (far exceeding Rs 8400 cr).