Operation Dolphin Nose: NIA arrests key conspirator from Mumbai for leaking vital Navy information

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 49-year-old Mohammed Haroon Haji Abdul Rehman Lakdawala, a Mumbai resident believed to be one of the key conspirators

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 49-year-old Mohammed Haroon Haji Abdul Rehman Lakdawala, a Mumbai resident believed to be one of the key conspirators in Visakhapatnam espionage case, on Friday.

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Lakdawala is the fourteenth arrest made in the operation code-named ‘Dolphin Nose’ where the espionage racket was busted by the Special Intelligence Branch of the Andhra Pradesh police along with the Naval Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau. The case was later transferred to NIA. “Lakdawala’s arrest is important considering the number of times he has travelled to Karachi under the guise of conducting cross-border trade, where he used to meet Pakistani spied possible code named as Akbar alias Ali and Rizwan,” said an NIA media release

An officer, requesting anonymity, said, “Lakdawala’s role is important considering that he was directly involved in depositing the money into the bank accounts of the Navy personnel at regular intervals through different methods.”

The espionage racket started in 2018. The first arrests were made on December 20 when the agencies arrested seven Indian Navy personnel from Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and Karwar bases, along with one hawala operator. Later in February, three more navy personnel were arrested in the case along with one Pakistani-born Indian national Shaista Qaiser.

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agencies had honey-trapped sailors through Facebook, WhatsApp and online dating sites, and were allegedly paid through Indian conduits for getting crucial information regarding positioning of Indian Navy ships and submarines at its critical bases, said sources in the intelligence agencies.

The sailors fell for ‘women’ on the dating sites, which were profiles created by ISI, and the women later would introduce them to a businessman who elicited information the sailors, said NIA officials. When the sailor would refrain from revealing information, the ‘women’ would then blackmail them by threatening to reveal their online chats. This way they extracted information about positions and movements of our vessels, added NIA officials.

During searches at the house of Lakdawala, several digital devices and incriminating documents were seized by NIA, he said, adding further investigation in the case was underway.