The Indian Coast Guard on Saturday (February 7, 2026) said it has busted an international oil smuggling racket by apprehending a set of vessels linked to it, about 100 nautical miles west of the coast of Mumbai as part of a mid-sea operation.
The vessels involved had devised a method to smuggle large volumes of cheap oil and oil-based cargo from the “conflict-ridden countries and profit by mid-sea transfer to motor tankers in international waters”, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said.
The “daring mid-sea operation”, initiated through digital surveillance and enforced through the ever-expanding maritime presence of the Indian Coast Guard, once again establishes India as a “net provider of maritime safety and enforcer of the international rules-based order”, the ICG said in a statement.
On 06 Feb 26, @IndiaCoastGuard busted an International oil-smuggling racket in a meticulously coordinated sea–air operation. The syndicate exploited mid-sea transfers in international waters to move cheap oil from conflict ridden regions to motor tankers, evading duties owed to… pic.twitter.com/erJ31U4xyH
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) February 7, 2026
