An Indian Coast Guard (ICG) team on Monday seized near Mandapam painkiller tablets worth ₹3.28 crore that were about to be smuggled to Sri Lanka.
The ICG personnel were on patrol on a hovercraft in the Gulf of Mannar area off Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district. At that time, some smugglers were unloading the contraband from a truck on the beach between Vedalai and Seeniappa Dargah.
Upon spotting the ICG personnel, the smugglers fled the scene with the truck, leaving behind the contraband on the beach. The ICG personnel seized the contraband, which comprised 8,46,000 painkiller tablets, packed in 12 boxes, intended for smuggling to Sri Lanka. Their value of the tablets is estimated at ₹3.28 crore.
Subsequently, the seized tablets were handed over to Mandapam Customs Office.
An investigation is under way to apprehend the smugglers.