Panaji (Goa) [India], March 8 (ANI): In a major breakthrough, the Crime Branch has arrested one youth in possession of 11.672 kg of hydroponic weed worth Rs 11.67 crore, busting a drug racket, officials said.

It is said to be the biggest-ever drug catch in Goa's history. The accused was arrested in Guirim after a thorough investigation and a month of intelligence collection.

The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and further investigation is underway.

Earlier in a joint operation, the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) apprehended two drug smugglers near the Amritsar border, officials said.

The operation, based on intelligence from the BSF intelligence wing, marked the second successful joint operation of the day.

According to BSF (Punjab Frontier) PRO, the authorities set up an ambush when they noticed two suspected persons coming on motorcycles at around 2:20 PM. After a brief chase, one of the smugglers was captured while the other managed to escape.

As this happened, the authorities recovered one packet of suspected heroin weighing 506 grams, a smartphone, three ATM cards, and a motorcycle from the apprehended smuggler. The packet that had narcotics was wrapped in yellow colour adhesive tape, and a steel ring was attached to it, indicating that the consignment was dropped by a Pakistani drone.

The apprehended smuggler has been identified as a resident of Saidpur Village in Amritsar. This successful apprehension and recovery took place near Village Jasraur, under the jurisdiction of Bhindi Saidan police station.

Meanwhile, the authorities launched another search operation following the revelations made by the apprehended smuggler.

The joint ambush party tacked down and apprehended the second smuggler from Avan Basu village at around 3:30 PM.

Both individuals were in police custody, and an investigation was ongoing to unfold their links to Pakistan-based narco-smuggling networks. (ANI)