International oil cargo smuggling racket busted in mid-sea operation off Mumbai coast: ICG

Indian Coast Guard intercepts vessels in mid-sea operation, dismantling an international oil smuggling racket off Mumbai's coast.

The Indian Coast Guard on Saturday (February 7, 2026) said it has busted an international oil smuggling racket by apprehending a set of vessels linked to it, about 100 nautical miles west of the coast of Mumbai as part of a mid-sea operation.

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.

The “daring mid-sea operation”, initiated through digital surveillance and enforced through the ever-expanding maritime presence of the Indian Coast Guard, once again establishes India as a “net provider of maritime safety and enforcer of the international rules-based order”, the ICG said in a statement.

On 06 Feb 26, @IndiaCoastGuard busted an International oil-smuggling racket in a meticulously coordinated sea–air operation. The syndicate exploited mid-sea transfers in international waters to move cheap oil from conflict ridden regions to motor tankers, evading duties owed to… pic.twitter.com/erJ31U4xyH

“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 Coast Guard said.

The vessels were found to frequently change identity to evade law enforcement actions by coastal states. The vessel owners are based in other countries, according to initial investigations, the maritime force said.