About 118 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated value $Rs 1,000 crore cash was seized from a cargo ship off the coast of Mundra in Gujarat’s Kutch district after the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) intercepted the vessel, with three foreign nationals arrested in connection with the case, officers said on Wednesday.
“A vessel was intercepted at the outer anchorage at Mundra Port and about five bags carrying about 118 kg of cocaine were seized. Two foreign nationals brought the consignment on board the vessel to be delivered to a Tanzanian national and a Ugandan national in Delhi,” Gujarat Police Director General KLN Rao said.
How was the operation done?
ATS has received intelligence that a cocaine shipment from Brazil will be unloaded near Mundra on Tuesday. The cargo was being transported on board the cargo ship ‘Europa’ by crew members and was to be transferred at sea to a fishing boat before being transported to Delhi.
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Officers observed two crew members throwing bags overboard upon spotting the approaching team. “Five floating bags were recovered from the water. An officer said: “A total of 115 bundles weighing 118.977 kg were seized from the bags and samples tested positive for cocaine using a drug detection kit. Four Apple AirTags were also found hidden inside the consignment,” he said, adding that two portable GPS and satellite communications devices were recovered from the guidance equipment room.
Officers said a Tanzanian national, Juma Nasir Omar, was arrested and later arrested while another Tanzanian national, Nginjit Nasoro Goman, jumped into the sea during the raid and is being tracked.
Omar told investigators that he hid the contraband in the ship’s engine room in November 2025 without the knowledge of other crew members, and was acting on the instructions of a handler.
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Based on the revelations, Kelvin Chukwuma, a Nigerian national, and Byaruvanga James, a Ugandan national, were arrested from Dwarka in Delhi with the assistance of Delhi Police and are being brought to Gujarat for further investigation.
“115 kilograms of cocaine. $1000 Crores. “The bust has been made,” Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said in a post on X, adding that Gujarat’s ATS, Indian Coast Guard and Kutch SOG worked together in the operation and that the state “will not be a gateway for drugs.”
