The Indian Navy and the Narcotics Control Bureau in a joint operation seized 200 kg of heroin worth Rs 1,200 crore from an Iranian fishing boat near the Kerala coast.

The heroin made in Afghanistan first came into Pakistan from where it was sent out on a boat. The consignment was then transferred to the Iranian vessel “in a mid-sea exchange” so that it could enter Indian waters without raising any suspicion, said officials.

Six Iranian nationals have been arrested and investigations have revealed that the heroin was to be sold in India and Sri Lanka.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday said that the Pakistan-based Haji Salim network was behind the drug smuggling.

The seized consignment and the boat have been brought to Kochi in Kerala, along with the six Iranian nationals, said Sanjay Kumar Singh, a senior offer of the NCB.

“While some of the drug packets had ‘Scorpion’ seal markings, the others had ‘dragon’ seal markings” which are used by drug cartels in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he said.

There has been a sharp increase in the drug trafficking through the sea route ever since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan.