Rajkot: In a judicial crackdown on cross-border drug smuggling, a special NDPS court in Bhuj sentenced six Pakistani nationals to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for attempting to smuggle nearly 77kg of heroin into India.The contraband, valued at Rs 384.68 crore, was seized during a joint mid-sea operation by the Gujarat anti-terrorist squad (ATS) and the Indian Coast Guard off the Jakhau coast in Dec 2021. Special NDPS judge V A Buddha delivered the judgment on April 24, 2026, convicting the six men under Sections 8(C), 22(C), 23(C), 25 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The court also fined each convict Rs 2 lakh, with an additional two years’ imprisonment in case of default. One Indian national, Amin Karim Surani, was acquitted. The operation followed a specific intelligence tip-off received by the ATS on the night of Dec 17, 2021. The input revealed that two Karachi-based smugglers, Haji Hasan and Haji Hasam, were sending a large heroin consignment on a Pakistani wooden boat named Al Huseini.The delivery was planned 34 to 35 nautical miles off the Jakhau coast, with VHF Channel 71 and the code words “Hari-1” and “Hari-2” to establish contact with the receivers. An ATS team boarded Indian Coast Guard interceptor vessels and tracked radio signals on Channel 71. The joint team intercepted and surrounded the Al Huseini boat at 2.45am. A search of a wooden compartment at the front of the boat led to the recovery of five large plastic bags containing 77 packets of heroin, weighing 76.936kg.The six convicted Pakistani nationals, all from Karachi, are Mohammad Imran Mohammad Tariq Vagher (31), Danis Mohammad Husen Kutchhi Vagher (24), Sagar Mohammad Kutchhi Vagher (23), Ismail Ibrahim Badala (75), Mohammad Sajid Mohammad Husen Yakublala Kungra (24) and Ashfaq Mohammad Ishak Vagher (26).While delivering the sentence, the special court observed that the offence was not merely a violation of law but a “systematic and conscious conspiracy” originating from Pakistan and aimed at targeting Indian youth.“The judge emphasized that flooding the country with massive quantities of narcotics is a destructive strategy designed to weaken the mental, physical and moral strength of the younger generation, ultimately causing social instability. Highlighting the links between drug smuggling, international syndicates and anti-national elements, the court justified the strict 20-year sentence as a necessary deterrent to protect the nation’s internal security and the future of its youth,” said Kutch district govt pleader H B Jadeja. The court also ordered the confiscation of the seized Pakistani boat, mobile phones, GPS systems and Pakistani currency, which will become govt property after the appeal period ends.
