‘Op Dolphin’s Nose’ in 2019 and now ‘Op Firewall’: How India is busting Pakistani spy rings

At least 13 detained navy personnel are being questioned by the Andhra Pradesh police for their alleged role in the honey trap-fuelled espionage racket involving Pakistani operatives spying for sensitive defence-related information, people familiar with the probe said on Wednesday.The CIC sleuths have not yet arrested these 13 Navy personnel but are questioning them at a secret location to uncover the network of Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIO) operating in the country (Representative photo)Counter intelligence cell (CIC) of the state police is attempting to extract information from the suspects, a police officer said. The focus is on how the wide spy network – two have been arrested so far – operated and what kind of information they had sold to Pakistani spies about the eastern naval command in Visakhapatnam.The CIC sleuths have not yet arrested these 13 Navy personnel but are questioning them at a secret location to uncover the network of Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIO) operating in the country, the officer said.“The CIC has already collected crucial information from their social media accounts about the modus operandi, but are waiting for more information to be disclosed during the interrogation. The formal arrest of these Navy personnel will be done only after obtaining comprehensive evidence,” the officer said.The CIC authorities have identified 18 suspects in total, including the 13 Indian Navy personnel, following coordinated raids by the CCI on October 1, carried out under the code name “Operation Firewall–2026”.On Tuesday, the CIC announced the arrest of two persons: Indian Navy sailor Pradeep Mukherjee attached to the naval command in Visakhapatnam and Annam Sai Varaprasad, a contractual driver for the Navy.Acting on specific information, a dozen counter intelligence teams were deployed across 10 states and Union Territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Bihar to track suspects. The teams worked in coordination with the several anti-terrorism squads from the states, naval officials and the local police.An official statement from the police department revealed that the honey trap was laid by two Pakistan intelligence operatives, identified as Joshita Pall and Anvi Mehta, who approached the Navy personnel through fake profiles on Facebook and Instagram.While Pall claimed to be an employee of a ship-building company in Mumbai, Mehta introduced herself as a psychologist based in Delhi. After establishing familiarity and trust, they shifted communication to WhatsApp and engaged the targets through messages, voice calls and video calls.“The alleged approach involved false professional identities, misleading promises, sexually explicit content and monetary inducements intended to draw personnel into sharing sensitive defence information,” the official statement said.Joshita sought information about the movement and number of ships and submarines, photographs, and photographs and details of their Commanding Officers. She allegedly induced the Indian Navy personnel with monetary offers in exchange for such information.On the other hand, Mehta allegedly attempted to honeytrap naval personnel through voice and video calls and sought photographs of naval ships and sensitive establishments. She attempted to induce personnel to display restricted or sensitive areas during video conversations.“The information sought reportedly included the movement and number of naval ships and submarines, photographs and videos of naval assets and sensitive establishments, and photographs and details of Commanding Officers,” the official statement said.They allegedly had a support network involving SIM cards obtained in India in Indian names and the sharing of mobile-number OTPs with Pakistan Intelligence Operatives. Indian personnel were allegedly offered monetary incentives, through cryptocurrency or other intermediaries, to share the OTPs required to activate WhatsApp accounts. Such OTPs were reportedly used to activate WhatsApp accounts in Pakistan.“These accounts were then allegedly utilised to contact further targets, attempt honey-trapping and collect sensitive defence information. The alleged sharing of activation OTPs is therefore being examined as a means of facilitating the wider espionage network,” it said. The investigating authorities are also probing the alleged financial arrangement in which funds originating from Pakistan were routed through cryptocurrency channels, traders, or other intermediaries to persons drawn into the network.SIMILAR ESPIONAGE RING BUSTED IN 2019In December 2019, the Andhra Pradesh CIC authorities busted a similar espionage racket in the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam through an operation named “Operation Dolphin’s Nose.In all, the CIC authorities arrested 15 persons, including seven Indian Navy sailors and a Mumbai-based hawala operator on charges of having links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence and spying for Pakistan through women who lured them into online relationships.The case was initially investigated by the AP Counter Intelligence Cell before being transferred to the National Investigation Agency. The accused were charged under several sections of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.The sailors were recruited in early 2017 and a year later, they were contacted by “three to four women”, who lured them into online relationships. The women introduced them to a businessman, who happened to be a Pakistani handler. The sailors were also receiving money handsomely from a hawala operator for their services.The case is still under investigation and the accused are in the prison, officials said.