Navy bans Facebook after 11 personnel arrested for espionage with Pakistan links

The spy racket was busted on December 19 by the Andhra Pradesh Intelligence Department, which claimed that the sailors, recruited in 2017, allegedly passed information like locations of naval ships and submarines after they fell into a honey trap.

“These young men were first contacted on Facebook by three or four women and lured them into an online relationship. The women later introduced them online to a man who posed as a businessman but was actually a Pakistani handler who started eliciting information from the sailors. The sailors whose chats with the women were sexual in nature were also blackmailed later to reveal the positions and movement of our warships and submarines. The sailors were also paid money every month through a hawala operator,” an official had said.

“These seven sailors would return from ships and submarines and reveal the locations and work they did from about September-October last year. They passed on a lot of sensitive information,” a source had said.

An FIR against the seven sailors has been registered at Counter-Intelligence Department at Vijayawada. Sources said that AP Intelligence was tracking the seven sailors for several days and their activities were under surveillance.

On Monday, the Counter Intelligence Cell of Andhra Pradesh arrested four more Indian Navy sailors — three from Mumbai Naval Base and one from Karwar Naval Base.

Curated For You

In writing, Election Commissioner Sandhu cautioned against harassment of ‘genuine citizens’; final SIR order dropped mention of Citizenship Act

Dharmendra’s mom met Hema Malini secretly; Prakash Kaur shared she ‘understands’ what Hema went through

Young Bengaluru doctor had heart attack despite gym workouts, a lean body and sleeping on time: What was his trigger?