Feature
Pakistani vessel trying to enter in Indian coast with Heroine worth Rs 600 crore
Gandhinagar: The Indian Coast Guard in-wee-hour on early Tuesday seized Pakistani vessel “Al Madina” carrying narcotic substance heroin worth Rs 600 crore, about eight nautical miles within Indian Ocean territory off the Jakhau coast after two days of non-stop search of nearly 200 nautical miles along International Maritime Boundary Line off Gujarat coast.
The Indian Coast Guard detained Pakistani vessel crew for interrogations after they received inputs from the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO) about a Pakistani ship trying to enter Indian Territory.
Apart from this, Indian fishing vessel crews with 13 members were also arrested who were in surrounding area to receive smuggling of goods illegally and secretly coast line.
A day later, the maritime security agency received similar inputs from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence after which search operation was reinforced for action.
Joint teams of intelligence agencies will interrogate crew members.
The Coast Guard deployed fast patrol vessel Aranjay, two interceptor boats and an aircraft for scanning the sea.
Additional Director General of the Coast Guard VSR Murthy said, “The suspect boat did evasive maneuvers to avoid getting apprehended. However, they were apprehended despite the rough sea conditions.”
He further added, “On rummaging the boat, approximately 194 packets of suspicious substance suspected to be narcotics have been recovered which will be further verified by appropriate agencies through chemical analysis.”
Alert Indian Coast Guard seized Pakistani vessel with narcotic worth Rs 600 crore:
While crew in a situation when it was hard to escape, members threw bags containing the suspicious materials in water from the boat before they could be taken into custody, later ICG retrieved seven bags from the water.
During attacks in 2008, 26/11 Mumbai terrors attack terrorist used sea route to enter India.
This is second major success in an anti-narcotics operation on high seas by the Coast Guard in the past two months, during March when a joint operation with the Anti Terrorist Squad and ICG seized a large amount of heroine approximately 100 kg valued of Rs 300 crore from the coast of Gujarat as per the information given by the maritime agency.
Based on inputs from Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and other agencies a Pakistani fishing boat was in a plan to deliver a huge narcotics consignment to an Indian fishing vessel.
The Coast Guard was diverted ships to the location in the Arabian Sea off Jakhau in Kutch region of southwest Gujarat, bordering Pakistan.
Adding to this they continue to chase the ship and managed to arrest within Indian territorial waters despite encountering rough seas in the darkness.
Preliminary tests by the Coast Guard, through a drug testing kit, revealed heroin were packed in some 195 packets weighing around 200 kg.
Constant search for the Pakistani vessel in detail are under process and its crew being interrogated thoroughly for further investigations, details of which are awaited by the officials.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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