Police in Gujarat's Kutch district seized 20 packets of charas, each weighing one kilogram, from an island off the Jakhau port. The contraband is estimated to be worth Rs 2.5 lakh per kilogram in the international market.
A total of nine crew members were found on board the Pakistani boat.
The state government has begun preparations to deal with the fallout of the cyclone as it will bring very strong wind and heavy rainfall in the region, officials said.
Scenes from Gujarat before cyclone Biparjoy makes landfall.
Wind speed at the time is expected to be in the range of 125-135 kmph gusting up to 150 kmph.
Hundreds of people are being evacuated from coastal villages in Kutch district in view of cyclone Biparjoy, but authorities are facing a challenge as many villagers are reluctant to leave their livestock and belongings behind.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi took to his Twitter to post a few pictures of Cyclone Biparjoy over the Arabian Sea.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Since its formation on June 6 in the southeast Arabian Sea, Biparjoy had maintained a northward track, gathering strength and becoming an extremely severe cyclonic storm on June 11, packing wind speed of more than 160 kmph, and then losing intensity a day later.
Pakistan Maritime Security Agency on Saturday apprehended 18 fishermen from Gujarat along with their three boats near Jakhau port off the state coast, an office-bearer of a fishermen association claimed.
The Coast Guard ships intercepted and apprehended the Pakistani boat 'Al Haj' when it ventured into the Indian waters
Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday evening with a wind speed of 115-125 kmph gusting to 140 kmph as heavy rains lashed the coastal region, where several areas plunged into darkness due to power cuts and a large number of trees, electric poles and hoardings got uprooted.
The CG and ATS personnel seized the boat Al Sakar which had 50 kg heroin on board, in the Arabian Sea, the official said.
Cyclone 'Biparjoy' has an extensive damaging potential and it is likely to impact Kutch, Devbhoomi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat the most, the India meteorological department said on Tuesday.
Will lax coastal security, corruption among the Customs, Fisheries department and the local police lead to another 26/11 kind of terrorist attack on India?
Relief Commissioner Alok Pandey told reporters that the government is constantly working to ensure that there is no loss of life due to the weather phenomenon.
The cyclone will make a landfall at around 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Thursday
In a joint operation, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Indian Coast Guard have seized over 300 kg of drugs worth Rs 1,800 crore which were dumped into the Arabian Sea by Pakistani smugglers who fled across the international maritime boundary on being chased, officials said on Monday.
A total of 33 teams have been earmarked by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to undertake relief and rescue operations in Gujarat and Maharashtra ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone 'Biparjoy' near the Jakhau port in Kutch district, officials said on Wednesday.
Apart from 15 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 12 teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), personnel of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Indian Coast Guard and Border Security Force (BSF) are deployed for relief and rescue operations, officials said.
After churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days, Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday.
Of some 70 villages in the coastal area of Gujarat's Kutch district, people of Salaya are the last to shift to safe shelters in the face of the approaching cyclone Biparjoy.
It will also be the third cyclone to hit the western state in June since 1965, the meteorological office said.
The WR is taking various measures including setting up disaster management rooms, help desks, and keeping relief trains ready.
According to IMD, the cyclonic storm weakened into a 'deep depression' at 11:30 pm on Friday over Southeast Pakistan.
'Areas within 100 km of the landfall could suffer catastrophic effect.'
The DG said the maximum of four teams of the NDRF have been positioned in Kutch district and the Gujarat government has done an in-depth evacuation exercise as part of which fishing boats have been anchored, big ships have been sent to the high seas so that they are not affected by the tidal waves, more than 4,000 hoarding have been taken down so that they don't become deadly flying objects as strong winds blow.
This is the biggest and the fourth major incident of apprehending Indian fishermen by the PMSA since January this year.
One of the teams rescued two lion cubs that had fallen into an open well in Jasadhar Range of Gir East division during the cyclone's landfall on Thursday evening, the official said.
While two lives were "tragically" lost before the landfall of the cyclone, not a single human life was lost post the landfall in Gujarat.
Several major cyclones have hit various parts of India over the last 10 years. Here is a look at the notable among them.
With this, the total number of Indian fishermen apprehended by PMSA in the last 48 hours has gone up to 88.
The boat was brought to the Jakhau coast in Kutch district of Gujarat for further investigation.
All armed forces including the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and Indian Coast Guard have made necessary preparation to provide assistance to the local people of Gujarat.
No lives were lost after cyclone Biparjoy made landfall. Preparations for Biparjoy were not only extensive, they were also telecast far and wide. Ahead of the cyclone's landfall, Shyam G Menon observes there was considerable publicity on how much the government was geared up to face the storm and its aftermath.
The crew is not traceable, sources said.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force started landing in Gujarat with the help of the Indian Air Force to undertake preventive evacuation of people living on the west coast, an IAF official said.
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