Iranians ferrying cigarette cargo likely waylaid by rough seas, engine trouble: Gujarat Police

The 50-tonne boat had, on February 21, been apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) under allegedly suspicious circumstances, about 115 nautical miles west of Dwarka, which falls squarely in the EEZ. Flagged as a suspect vessel thought to be possibly carrying contraband, the Al Mukhtar, a vessel registered in Sri Lanka, was towed to the Gujarat coast and its crew handed over to Porbandar Police on February 24.

However, after investigation into the provenance of the vessel, its crew and consignment of goods, the police and other security and intelligence agencies have almost cleared it of any wrongdoing. The Porbandar Police found that prima facie, there was no evidence of the crew having committed a crime according to Indian laws, and so, only a diary note was made at the Navibandar police station in Porbandar.

When asked about the reason for the boat being in Indian waters, Inspector PD Jadav of the Navibandar police station told The Indian Express, “They claim that a combination of rough seas and engine problems led them to be pushed so far off course before being apprehended by the ICG. They claimed that they had been using their boat engine for an hour, then stopping and then starting it again with rests because of an overheating issue. The boat is tied up at Porbandar dock while the crew is under supervision of the police.”

“We have just filed a diary note because prima facie, there is no violation of Indian law. The boat was found in the EEZ but was not involved in illegal fishing. This is a trading boat and they have all their passports and proper documentation to prove it. They were jointly interrogated by other Intelligence and coastal security agencies as well,” said Jadav.

The four crew members not only submitted their identity documents including passports, but have also shared their boat registration, and other requisite papers and told police and intelligence officials that they had headed out from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and were bound for Somalia with a cigarette shipment before their vessel was pushed far off course in the Arabian Sea into the Indian EEZ.

The police said they had spoken to the officials of the company in Dubai, whom the crew worked for. DySP Surjeet Mahedu of Porbandar, told the Indian Express, “While their documents are in order, it was also possible that they were here for some malafide purpose. So intensive investigation was carried out into the case. However, some final details are still being verified and investigation remains underway.”

The ICG had on February 21 said it had “intercepted a suspicious foreign boat inside the Indian EEZ, approximately 115 NM west of Dwarka. The vessel, identified as Al Mukhtar, was manned by four Iranian crew. On rummaging, 200 cartons containing about one lakh packets of foreign brand cigarettes were discovered concealed in the holds. The international market value of the consignment is estimated at Rs2.5–5 crore (approx).”

The statement from the ICG said, “The boat was identified as Al Mukhtar, but it was transmitting a different name on the automatic identification system (AIS). The boat was registered in Colombo.” The reason for this aspect remains under investigation, said DySP Mahedu.