Mumbai, Feb 7 (IANS) The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) seized three vessels off Mumbai and busted an international oil smuggling racket involving handlers operating across multiple countries, coordinating the sale and transfer of cargo between ships at sea, an official said on Saturday.

Following a meticulously planned sea-air coordinated operation on Thursday and Friday, the three apprehended vessels are likely to be escorted to Mumbai for further investigation, according to an official statement.

The vessels will be handed over to Indian Customs and other law enforcement agencies for appropriate legal action, it said.

Preliminary findings indicate that the vessels frequently changed their identities to evade detection by maritime law enforcement agencies, and that their owners are based in foreign countries, it added.

The operation dismantled an intricate network involved in the illicit transfer of large volumes of oil and oil-based cargo originating from conflict-ridden regions, the statement said.

Earlier on Thursday, three suspect vessels were intercepted by Indian Coast Guard ships approximately 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai. Sustained rummaging of the vessels, corroboration of electronic data recovered on board, verification of documents, and detailed interrogation of crew members enabled the ICG’s specialist boarding teams to establish the complete chain of events and confirm the criminal modus operandi.

The smuggling syndicate employed a modus operandi wherein cheap oil was transported by seagoing vessels and transferred mid-sea to motor tankers in international waters.

Initial investigations revealed that the syndicate comprised handlers operating across multiple countries, coordinating the sale and transfer of cargo between vessels at sea, the statement said.

The operation was initiated following detection by the ICG’s technology-enabled surveillance systems, which identified a motor tanker engaged in suspicious activity within the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

A subsequent digital investigation and data pattern analysis of vessel movements led to the identification of two additional vessels converging on the tanker, suspected to be involved in illicit ship-to-ship transfer of oil-based cargo, thereby evading substantial duties owed to coastal states, including India.

–IANS

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