4 months ago
2
Mumbai Customs has intercepted a cargo barge mid-sea and seized implicit 180 tonnes of smuggled diesel hidden successful h2o tanks, officials said connected Tuesday (January 20, 2026).
The vessel's maestro and the lad of its proprietor person been arrested, an authoritative said.
Based connected circumstantial intelligence, Customs sleuths conducted a raid connected the cargo vas MV Tina 4 mid-sea connected Sunday (January 18, 2026), helium said.
The barge was recovered carrying high-speed diesel smuggled from overseas vessels and hidden successful h2o tanks, intended to beryllium supplied to section coastal boats and factories to evade customs duty, the authoritative said, referring to the modus operandi based connected statements of the master, engineer, and a typical of the shipping line.
One h2o vessel connected the barge was recovered not to beryllium portion of the approved plan by the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), helium said.
The arrests were made aft circumstantial intelligence. There is simply a anticipation of immoderate much arrests and the vulnerability of a larger nexus progressive successful the long-running smuggling racket, the authoritative said.
This marks 1 of the biggest seizures by Mumbai Customs involving a large barge, helium claimed.
The company, which owns the seized vessel, operates respective barges crossed the state and 2 tanker vessels, sources said. The seized barge was utilized for chartered bunkering services, they added.
