While the entire ship was thoroughly searched by the IB and the Customs with the help of sniffer dogs of Odisha police, the agencies presume that one of the crew members might have tried to smuggle the contraband. Since the ship was not supposed to halt at any other Indian port, it is being suspected that the consignment was to be delivered abroad. “It seems the drug was not meant for supply in the Indian market,” a source in the Customs Department said.

The captain and the crew members of the cargo ship are being questioned by the probe agencies at an undisclosed location. The agencies are also trying to ascertain any Odisha link in this major drug haul in recent years in the state, the source added.

There are also reports that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) may also join the probe.

Twenty-two suspicious packets were spotted in a crane on the ship anchored at Paradip International Cargo Terminal (PICT) on Thursday night. Suspecting it to be some kind of explosive, the crane operator informed the authorities, who came with a dog squad, raided the ship and seized the packets. Preliminary narcotics test confirmed the contents to be cocaine.

In a statement, the Customs Commissionerate earlier said that they searched the ship around midnight acting on intelligence inputs and found the cocaine packets.

The Panama-registered cargo ship, named MV Debi, began its voyage from Egypt and arrived to India via the Gresik port in Indonesia. It was scheduled to depart for Denmark with steel plates from India. All the crew members are from Vietnam, officials said, adding that the ship was operated by Asia Pacific Shipping Co Ltd.

The President along with Governor Raghubar Das and Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu joined the event. She flagged off a special boat at the event, commemorating the state’s ancient maritime glory. The ceremony was organised by the Paradip Port Authority on the occasion of Kartika Purnima.

During her visit to Paradip, Murmu also boarded a special vessel ‘Amogh’ of the Indian Coast Guard.

The President inspected port craft before addressing members of the fishing community. Special security arrangements have been made for the smooth functioning of the event.

The President, who had arrived in Bhubaneswar on Sunday evening on a two-day Odisha visit, had a night halt at Raj Bhavan in the state capital.

Murmu will also virtually inaugurate a Multi Model Logistic Park as well as lay the foundation stones for new reservoir and water treatment plant for Port Township and next-gen vessel traffic management and information system.

This is her second visit to Odisha in a week after spending three days in her home district Mayurbhanj and Sambalpur from November 20.