Bhubaneswar: The Indian Coast Guard has foiled a mid-sea smuggling operation in the Bay of Bengal and seized a huge quantity of betel nuts from two fishing boats off the Odisha coast.

The Indian Coast Guard intercepted the two Indian fishing boats—Maa Ayesha l and Maa Ayesha lI—in the sea on Tuesday and conducted searches. The officials found around 710 gunny bags of betel nuts from the two boats.

The two West Bengal-registered boats were carrying the betel nuts without any valid documents, said the Indian Coast Guard.

The boats along with crew members were escorted to Kasafal fishing harbour in Odisha’s Balasore and handed over Kasafal Marine Police for further investigation.

“The joint operation by the Indian Coast Guard and the Marine Police of Odisha through constant vigil and alertness at sea underscores the maritime synergy and steadfast commitment in safeguarding our nation's maritime interests. The Indian Coast Guard maintains an unwavering round-the-clock vigil to deter, detect and disrupt unlawful activities at sea,” said an official.