Indian Coast Guard busts international oil smuggling racket in the Arabian Sea

Mumbai: In a darning mid-sea operation, the Indian Coast Guard has busted an international oil smuggling racket in the Arabian Sea, around 100 nautical miles west off the Mumbai coast.

During the intricate air-sea operation, the ICG found that the vessels devised a method to smuggle large volumes of cheap oil and oil-based cargo from conflict-ridden countries and profit by mid-sea transfer to motor tankers in international waters.

The syndicate consists of a network of handlers operating from various countries, coordinating the sale and transfer between sea going vessels.

Three vessels were intercepted by ICG ships, about 100 nautical miles west off Mumbai on Thursday, and through sustained rummaging, corroboration of electronic data onboard the suspect vessels and verification documents and interrogation of crew, ICG specialist boarding team established the chain of incidents and the modus-operandi of the criminals, ICG officials said on Saturday.

ICG tech-inclusive systems detected a Motor Tanker, conducting suspicious activity in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zones, prompting a digital investigation into the actions of the vessel. ICG further undertook data pattern analysis of other vessels closing in on the vessel, and identified two other vessels as possible suspects, involved in illicit transfer of oil based cargo at sea, evading significant duties owed to the coastal states, including India.

ICG specialist teams boarded the vessels and confirmed the accuracy of the digital evidence, leading to the apprehension of the vessels.

The vessels are likely to be escorted to Mumbai for further investigation and handed over to Indian Customs and law enforcement agencies for further actions.

The vessels were found to frequently change identity to evade law enforcement actions by coastal states. The vessel owners are based in other countries, as per initial investigations.

The operation, initiated through digital surveillance and enforced through the ever-expanding maritime presence of the Indian Coast Guard, once again establishes India as a net provider of maritime safety and enforcer of the international rules based order.