On March 7, 2025, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) teamed up to recover 29.954 kg of hashish oil valued at ₹33 crore from a tug-barge heading for the Maldives.
After receiving precise intelligence, DRI officials located a tugboat that was pulling a barge loaded with boulders of granite that had left Tuticorin Old Port. It was discovered that, with the help of a crew member from the ship, a Tuticorin-based gang secretly loaded large amounts of Hashish Oil onto the barge mid-sea when it was sailing to the Maldives.
The Indian Coast Guard escorted the ship back to Tuticorin New Port by March 7, 2025, after intercepting it in mid-sea off the coast of Kanyakumari on March 5, 2025, at the DRI’s request.
In the meantime, the man who had loaded the illegal substance onto the ship and his co-conspirator were arrested. After the ship docked, the crew member who had given the gang the location of the vessel was also taken into custody for more investigation.
Two bags holding 29 plastic packets with printed descriptions of food products were found during the barge vessel’s rummage. After being inspected, it was discovered that the packets contained a “black-colored liquid paste like substance,” which tested positive for “Hashish Oil” using the field test kit.
29 packets totalling 29.954 kg of hashish oil, worth ₹32.94 crore on the black market, were found and confiscated in accordance with the NDPS Act of 1985. On March 8, 2025, the three accused were taken into custody and placed under court remand.
