India, Feb. 22 -- The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Sunday intercepted a foreign vessel inside India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Arabian Sea, about 115 nautical miles west off Dwarka coast in Gujarat, and seized a large consignment of smuggled cigarettes along with prohibited communication equipment.

The vessel, identified as 'Al Mukhtar', was manned by four Iranian nationals, the ICG said. During a search of the boat, authorities recovered 200 cartons containing around one lakh packets of foreign-brand cigarettes concealed inside the vessel's holds.

Officials said the international market value of the seized consignment is estimated to be between Rs.2.5 crore and Rs.5 crore.

In addition, a prohibited Thuraya satellite communi...