NIA arrests key conspirator in Visakhapatnam espionage case

The National Investigation Agency on Friday made a breakthrough in the Visakhapatnam espionage case with the arrest of a key conspirator, Mohammed Haroon Haji Abdul Rehman Lakdawala. The international espionage case involves individuals based in Pakistan and at different locations in India.

According to the NIA, 49-year-old Haroon, a resident of Mumbai, had visited Karachi in Pakistan on many occasions to meet his handlers under the guise of conducting cross-border trade.  

During these visits, he came in contact with two Pakistani  spies namely Akbar alias Ali and Rizwan, who directed him to deposit money into the bank accounts of Navy personnel at regular intervals. The same was done through different means

During searches at the house of Haroon, the NIA seized a number of digital devices and incriminating documents. Further investigation in the case continues, said the agency.

The case relates to Pakistan-based spies recruiting agents in India for collecting sensitive and classified information regarding locations and movements of Indian Naval ships and submarines, and other defence establishments. 

According to the NIA, a few Navy personnel came in contact with Pakistani nationals through various social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, and were involved in sharing classified information in lieu of monetary gains. The money was deposited into the bank accounts of the navy personnel through Indian associates having business interests in Pakistan.

So far, fourteen accused have been arrested including 11 Navy personnel and one Pakistan-born Indian national, Shaista Qaiser.

In January, three Indian Navy officials were taken into custody by the police on suspicion of spying for Pakistan from the Eastern Naval Command. On December 20, seven naval officials including three from Eastern Naval Command, three from Western Naval Command and one from Karwar had been taken into custody on charges of spying for Pakistan.

Indian defence personnel and diplomats have been high on the target of Pakistan spy agency ISI which has upped its espionage game by making use of social media to penetrate the defence forces. This prompted the government to issue an advisory to military and paramilitary personnel to stop using 42 mobile applications like WeChat, BeautyPlus and UC News, most of which are of Chinese based and are suspected to carry malwares and spy wares.