Paradip: A court in Jagatsinghpur district Monday laid stringent conditions, including a bond of Rs 100 crore along with a bank guarantee of Rs 10 crore, for the release of cargo ship MV Devi, from which cocaine worth Rs 220 crore was seized in December last year, lawyers said. The conditions were laid by the NDPS court in Kujang while hearing the case of the seizure of 20 packets of cocaine from the ship at Paradip International Cargo Terminal (PICT) berth.
Following court proceedings, the ship’s release is contingent upon the fulfillment of these financial obligations by the shipping agency, they said. In one of the biggest drug hauls in state, Customs officials seized 22 kg of cocaine, estimated to be worth around Rs 220 crore in the international market, from the container ship at Paradip Port December 1 last year. The bulk carrier arrived at Paradip Port from Indonesia and was about to depart for Denmark. All 21 Vietnamese crew members have been detained on the ship, which is currently anchored some four km from the port under the supervision of the Customs Department.