Indian anti-narcotics and intelligence officials have confiscated almost three tons of heroin with a reported street value of around $2.7 billion, in a major drug bust at a port in Gujarat state.
Two people were arrested in connection with the haul, which was concealed in two containers marked as semi-processed talc stones.
The drugs, which were found by agents of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, originated in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban insurgents' takeover of the country.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan is the world's largest supplier of opiates, supplying between 80% to 90% of the world's output.
Opium poppy plants undergo a complex refinement process to form the compound for several highly addictive drugs, including heroin.
The Taliban claim they will put an end to the illegal trade, Reuters said.
Other reports suggest the drugs, one of India's biggest such busts to date, were bound for Delhi. Investigations were ongoing, an official in Gujarat, who requested not to be named, said.
The DRI said the drugs were shipped to Gujarat's Mundra port from Iran, adding that intelligence also revealed the shipment was imported by a company in the southern city of Vijaywada.
Forensic testing will be carried out to determine the exact value of the drugs, officials said. "Investigations conducted so far have also revealed the involvement of Afghan nationals," the agency disclosed.
Searches have been made in multiple cities across India, including its capital city of Delhi, Chennai and Ahmedabad, the DRI said.
The production of heroin has boomed in Afghanistan over the last few years, helping finance the Taliban which returned to power last month.
Foreign aid and development assistance comprise more than 40% of Afghanistan's gross domestic product in 2020, and funded three-quarters of public expenditure.
But a good number of international donors are unwilling to offer financial aid to the Taliban, making the new Afghan government's economic outlook even more bleak.
Efforts by the United States and the international community to quell the nation's heroin trade have been largely futile.
