Around 70 kg of charas in bags marked as ‘Pakistan Rice’ wasfound on the coastline in Sindhudurg district last week. These bags were foundin Devgad, Malvan and Vengurla beach.
When locals first reported sighting of these bags on theshores, police got them checked for the presence of explosives. “Forensic testsconfirmed that the bags contained charas and not explosives,” SindhudurgSuperintendent of Police Nandkumar Thakur informed.
Last week residents of Devgad, Vengurla, and Malvan reportedsighting suspicious bags on the coastline. The police immediately summoned thebomb disposal squad, which confirmed that these bags did not containexplosives. Thereafter they were sent for forensic tests.
Up to now 69 bags containing 1 kg each of charas have beenfound. Police suspect that the bags might be a part of the illegal tradeconsignment of charas, which might have fallen into the sea more than a monthago. They have registered a case under various sections of the NDPS Act againstunknown persons.
Police have found the growth of sea algae and forms of sealife on the bags. This means that the bags might have fallen in the sea atleast a-month-and-a-half ago, police said. “We checked if there was any shipmovement in the nearby area, but found nothing. We can’t say where these bagscame from. Due to the monsoon, the sea is very choppy and the currents comefrom different directions. It is difficult to predict how these bags landedhere, and where they intended to be sent. We are investigating the matterfurther,” a police officer said.
