Pune customs foils bid to smuggle 3,500 goats, sheep to Dubai

The officers were alerted on April 21 of coastal movement of around 3,500 livestock from Vijaydurg port (Sindhudurg district) in Maharashtra to Okha port in Gujarat

Pune: The Pune customs marine team unearthed a case of illegal export of livestock (goats and sheep) off the Ratnagiri coast to Dubai by falsely declaring it as coastal cargo.

The Coast Guard detected the vessel around 90 nautical miles (NM) in the open sea and on course to Dubai. On Pune customs team’s request, the Coast Guard intercepted the vessel at around 12:30 am on April 21. (HT PHOTO)

The officers were alerted on April 21 of coastal movement of around 3,500 livestock from Vijaydurg port (Sindhudurg district) in Maharashtra to Okha port in Gujarat.

Based on e-way bill data, it appeared that the livestock originated from Karnataka and was being sent to Gujarat to meet the demands of the upcoming festivities. However, since the supply of livestock from Karnataka to Gujarat did not seem like a general trade practice and there was no history of such coastal passage, Pune customs officers placed the vessel under monitoring.

A team was checking the vessel movement via automatic identification system (AIS) while another was deployed at sea to check visual id of passage. However, after four hours of sail, it was found that the AIS was switched off, and the vessel was not in the expected vicinity. An alert was forwarded to the joint operations centre, Coast Guard Mumbai, customs officials said.

The vessel with livestock was escorted to Jaigad anchorage, where a team of customs officers conducted a search and seized fake shipping bills, invoices, and customs clearance.

The team found the use of fake seals of various authorities, including customs, and fake import documents pertaining to import to Dubai. The vessel, along with the crew and cargo, has been detained for further investigation.