In a joint operation, the Indian Navy and Coast Guard personnel apprehended a suspicious dhow from Dubai, smuggling items like banned Thuraya satellite phone, mobile accessories, television sets and imported cigarettes, off the Mumbai coast in the wee hours of Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off that some smuggled goods were being off-loaded from an incoming dhow along the south Mumbai coastline, the maritime security agencies launched a massive operation, using seven Naval and Coast Guard ships. Before long the naval and Coast Guard vessels formed a protective cordon around the Mumbai coast, their effort to prevent the dhow from sneaking into Mumbai clandestinely.
It was finally a high-speed Coast Guard Interceptor Craft that caught the suspect ship Yusufi which had sailed from Dubai and was approaching Mumbai to land contraband. The vessel was subsequently handed over to the Mumbai Police.
The dhow — MSV Yusufi— came under intelligence agencies’ scanner following a tip-off that the vessel would be transporting banned items from Dubai to Hey Bunder (wharf) at Mumbai coast. The goods were being smuggled for a Dubai-based under-writer and nodal agency operator named Usman.
The interception led to the arrest of five crew members all Indian, 27 goats, bonded mobile accessories, imported cigarettes, and imported high-end television sets. The intercepting vessel was unable to recover the costly Thuraya set which was being used by the crew for communication with handlers at Dubai and India.
Though no fire arms or explosives were found on board, officials from Customs (Marine and Preventive Wing) and Coastal Police are questioning the detained crew members.
The detained dhow was handed over to the Yellow Gate police.
The interception of the dhow is the result of an up-gradation of the maritime security undertaken by the agencies concerned in the wake of the terrorist attacks of November 2008 on Mumbai. During the up-gradation, a series of exercises named “Sagar Kavach” have been undertaken to improve synergy between the various agencies concerned.