Indian Coast Guard Cracks International Oil Smuggling Syndicate

In a mid-sea operation, the Indian Coast Guard successfully dismantled an international oil smuggling syndicate after intercepting three vessels involved in illegal trade in international waters, as announced by the maritime security agency on Saturday.

The operation, conducted on February 5-6 around 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai, was enabled by intelligence gathered through advanced maritime surveillance systems. According to the Coast Guard, the syndicate smuggled large amounts of low-cost oil and cargo from conflict zones, cleverly avoiding customs duties by transferring cargo mid-sea to motor tankers in international waters.

Investigations showed that the network operated across multiple countries and used frequent vessel identity changes to avoid detection. Upon detecting a suspicious activity in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, a thorough digital investigation led to the identification of two additional suspect vessels signaling an illicit operation. Specialist teams boarded the vessels, confirming the smuggling activities through document verification, electronic data analysis, and crew interrogation. The vessels are due for further investigation in Mumbai and eventual handover to Indian Customs and other agencies.