The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Thursday seized 52 kilograms of cocaine from an import consignment at Gujarat’s Mundra port.

The drugs were estimated to be valued at over Rs 500 crore in the international illicit market, according to an official press release.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence acted on the basis of intelligence inputs that some consignments that were being imported from Iran were likely to contain narcotic drugs.

Under “Operation Namkeen”, the agency examined a consignment imported at the Mundra port from Iran for three days from May 24 to May 26. A declaration on the consignment stated that it contained 1,000 bags of common salt and that it weighed 25 megatonnes.

“During examination, some bags were found to be suspicious, as a substance in powder form having distinct smell was found in these bags,” the official press release said. “Samples were drawn from those suspected bags and testing was conducted by officials of Directorate of Forensic Sciences, Government of Gujarat.”

The tests confirmed that the samples contained cocaine.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is investigating the roles of persons involved in importing the consignment.

The drug seizure took place over a month after the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad and the Indian Coast Guard stopped a Pakistani boat off the Jakhau coast in the Kutch district and held nine crew members for carrying heroin worth Rs 280 crore.

In September, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had seized nearly three tonnes of heroin at the Mundra port, in what was reported to be India’s biggest drug haul. The National Investigation has named 16 persons – 11 Afghan nations, four Indians and an Iranian – in the case.