Paradip: About 10 days after the Customs Department seized 22 kg cocaine said to be worth Rs 220 crore in the international market from MV Devi docked at the International Cargo Terminal of Paradip port in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district on the intervening night of November 30 and December 1, special scuba divers of the Indian Coast Guard have launched an underwater search for the drug as it is suspected that some staff of MV Devi had thrown some cocaine packets into the sea before the raid by Customs officials.
According to reports, while the Customs Department, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), and various investigative agencies are investigating the cocaine found in the crane chamber of the ship, permission has been obtained from the Kujang court for the sample test of the drug. While the seized cocaine has been kept in the custody of the Coast Guard, some of it has been sent for sample testing.
On the other hand, the linguistic problem of the 21 crew members on the ship has hindered the investigation. The investigating agencies have been trying to find out who got into the ship and when or where the cocaine was loaded on the ship. However, while the investigation is still going on, it seems that the various tanks and the lower part of the ship are being searched by the divers of the Coast Guard for any additional cocaine.
It is worth mentioning here that MV Devi had arrived from Gresik port in Indonesia and was scheduled to travel to Denmark.
