On September 8 and 9, the Sindhudurg Police was sent into a tizzy after local fishermen informed them of a number of sacks that had come floating at six different spots near Devgad, Vengurla and Malvan.

As the polythene sacks had the label ‘Pakistan Long Grain Rice’ on them, a wave of panic spread across the region, and Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad of the Sindhudurg unit had to be pressed into service.