New Delhi, July 6 -- India's western coastline along Gujarat and Maharashtra has emerged as a growing concern for security agencies as a key maritime route for the smuggling of illegal arms from Pakistan into the country, an official assessment report submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) states.

The report, collated based on inputs from security agencies, mentions that the South Asian arms trafficking network reaches India through both land and sea.

It explains that while one branch enters via the land border in Punjab and Rajasthan, another increasingly exploits the maritime frontier along the Gujarat and Maharashtra coastlines.

Officials said traffickers rely on fishing vessels and small coastal craft that can evade conven...