Mumbai, The Customs Preventive Wing has busted a fuel smuggling and transfer network off the Mumbai coast by intercepting a sanctioned Russian-flagged vessel and an Indian bunker barge, which allegedly supplied Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil to the foreign ship, officials said on Monday.Mumbai Customs busts fuel smuggling, intercepts sanctioned foreign ship and Indian bunker bargeAccording to Customs authorities, around 200 tons of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil was being illegally supplied to the Russian-flagged vessel, MT Angara, through forged export documents.The foreign ship is currently subject to active sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.Officials said MT Angara, and Indian bunker barge MV Bay III, which was transferring fuel to the foreign ship, were intercepted during routine patrolling.Investigators found that the fuel supply operation was facilitated using forged Indian Oil export invoices and by circumventing mandatory Customs procedures, including the filing of export shipping bills. Authorities allege that these measures were adopted to evade applicable taxes and domestic duties.The barge involved in the mid-sea transfer is reportedly owned by an individual who operates a shipping company based in Navi Mumbai and is already under investigation for alleged involvement in the fuel smuggling network, officials said.Customs officials recovered bunker delivery notes and fuel test reports directly from MT Angara, which they say establishes a clear link between the vessel and the illegal fuel transfer.Preliminary investigations suggest that the forged documents and fraudulent shipping bills were arranged by another Navi Mumbai-based logistics firm. The owners of the company have been named in the ongoing probe.Beyond tax evasion, Customs authorities suspect that the elaborate forgery scheme was designed to conceal fuel supplies to the sanctioned Russian vessel from international monitoring agencies, according to officials.Officials are also tracking illegal foreign financial transactions linked to associated shadow companies based out of the UAE, which are suspected of routing payments for the smuggled oil.Further investigations into the network, local logistical facilitators, and overseas banking channels are underway, officials added.This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.