New Delhi: The Indian Coast Guard has dismantled an international oil smuggling syndicate by apprehending three vessels linked to it, about 100 nautical miles west of the coast of Mumbai as part of a mid-sea operation on February 5.
The vessels involved had devised a method to smuggle large volumes of cheap oil and oil-based cargo from the “conflict-ridden countries and profit by mid-sea transfer to motor
tankers in international waters”, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said in a statement.
“Three vessels were intercepted by ICG ships, about 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai, on February 5, and through sustained rummaging, corroboration of electronic data onboard the suspect vessels and verification of documents and interrogation of crew, the ICG’s specialist boarding team established the chain of incidents and the modus operandi of the criminals,” the ICG said.
The vessels frequently changed identity to evade law enforcement actions by coastal states. The vessel owners are based in other countries, according to initial investigations.
The vessels are likely to be escorted to Mumbai for further investigation and handed over to the Indian Customs and law enforcement agencies for action, the ICG said.