Odisha court orders Indonesian ship owner to pay ₹100 cr bond for its release

Indonesian cargo ship MV Debi has been anchored to the Paradip Port since December last year following seizure of 22 kg of Cocaine.

Hearing the case relating to the drugs haul, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court at Kujang in Jagatsinghpur district ordered that MV Debi ship would be released after furnishing ₹100 crore bond and ₹10 crore bank guarantee for release of the ship.

The MV Debi, a bulk carrier, arrived at Paradip port from Gresik Port in Indonesia on November 29. Based on intelligence that a few suspected packets of drugs are concealed in the ship, the customs officers searched the ship on the intervening night of November 30 and December 1. Twenty-two packets, wrapped and affixed with magnet, were recovered from the cranes of the ship.

Customs officials seized more than 20 kg of cocaine from the Panama registered ship, the market value of which is estimated at ₹220 crores. Ten individuals, including three Vietnamese crew members, six crane operators from Paradip port, and a managerial-level employee of a stevedoring agency, are under the scrutiny of probe agencies.

The vessel, manned by a crew of Vietnamese nationals, operates under the Asia Pacific Shipping Co Ltd, registered in Panama. Having departed from Gresik Port and en route to Denmark, the ship raised suspicions due to its last port of call.

In January this year, a Vietnamese national working as third engineer in the ship, tried to die by suicide slitting his right hand. He also jumped into the sea but was rescued.