These packets are suspected to have been dumped by smugglers. (Representational)
At least 59 packets suspected to contain charas have been recovered after they washed ashore in Porbandar and Junagadh districts in coastal Gujarat, police said on Wednesday.
Each packet weighs one kg.
Coffee packets containing suspected charas were recovered from Mangrol in Junagadh and Madhavpur in Porbandar, officials said, adding that search operations are underway to find out if more such packets have washed ashore.
Junagadh Special Operations Group (SOG) received information on Tuesday night about some packets being washed ashore in Mangrol, after which a search operation was undertaken in the area, Junagadh Superintendent of Police Ravi Teja Vasam Shetty told reporters.
"On Wednesday, the SOG team recovered 39 packets of suspected charas. The sample has been sent for forensic testing. Each packet weighs one kg," he said.
Shetty said a search operation was going on and more such packets are likely to be recovered.
Meanwhile, 20 such packets were found near the Madhavpur beach in Porbandar, police said.
"We have recovered 20 packets containing suspected charas near the Madhavpur beach in the Porbandar district. Search operation continues," Deputy SP Prakash Prajapati said.
Several such packets had been recovered from coastal districts of Gujarat in the recent past.
The Border Security Force (BSF) recovered ten packets of charas from a creek area in the Kutch district on July 29.
These packets are suspected to have been dumped by smugglers after their boats were intercepted by security agencies.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)