DRI and Coast Guard seize 30 kg hashish oil worth ₹33 crore from Maldives-bound vessel
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), with the Indian Coast Guard, seized 29.954 kg of hashish oil worth about ₹33 crore from a Maldives-bound tug-barge on 7 March 2025, after it was escorted back to Tuticorin.
Summary
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), in a joint operation with the Indian Coast Guard, seized 29.954 kg of hashish oil, valued at ₹32.94 crore, on 7 March 2025. It was hidden on a tug-towed barge carrying rock boulders from Tuticorin Old Port to the Maldives. A Tuticorin-based gang had loaded the drug mid-sea with a crew member's help. The Coast Guard intercepted the vessel off the Kanyakumari coast on 5 March and escorted it to Tuticorin New Port by 7 March. The drug was seized under the NDPS Act, 1985, and three accused were arrested.
Key facts
- Seizure date
- 7 March 2025, Tuticorin New Port
- Quantity
- 29.954 kg hashish oil, ₹32.94 crore
- Destination
- Maldives
- Interception
- 5 March 2025, off Kanyakumari, by ICG
- Law
- NDPS Act, 1985; three arrested
Practice MCQs 2 questions
The tug-barge from which DRI seized about 30 kg of hashish oil in March 2025 was headed for which country?
Show answer
Correct answer: C — Maldives
The vessel had left Tuticorin Old Port for the Maldives; the hashish oil was loaded mid-sea by a Tuticorin-based gang.
Under which law was the 29.954 kg of hashish oil seized by DRI at Tuticorin in March 2025?
Show answer
Correct answer: D — NDPS Act, 1985
The hashish oil was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985; three accused were remanded to judicial custody.