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This is an archive article published on February 19, 1998

Police, Coast Guard alert on arms inflow

February 18: An intelligence report saying a huge consignment of arms is on its way to Mumbai has put Mumbai police and the Coast Guard on a...

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February 18: An intelligence report saying a huge consignment of arms is on its way to Mumbai has put Mumbai police and the Coast Guard on alert. The Coast Guard has already sent its vessels into the sea to look for any vessels containing arms.

The consignment of weapons is believed to have been sent from a Gulf nation.

Though the quantity and the nature of the weapons still haven’t been ascertained, a senior crime branch officer said, preferring anonymity, that they’ve been sent for underworld operations in the city. "Ever since the police department got the information, it has been maintaining an alert," deputy commissioner of police (crime) K L Prasad said.

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Recently, the Coast Guard despatched four patrol vessels, Veera, Varuna, Vajra and Sangram into the sea waters to look for any vessels laden with contraband. Two other coast guard vessels from south India also joined this fleet in the operation, which was code-named "Kanda" (onion). Senior Coast Guard officials said since intelligence reportshave indicated that the arms consignment may be sent through the sea route, the search is on for any vessel seen to be moving around suspiciously. Some officials fear that the vessels carrying the arms may even have surreptitiously slipped into the zone exclusively meant for Indian vessels.

But they denied the operation was out of the ordinary. "The job of the Coast Guard is to prevent smuggling of contraband, which includes arms. The operation is more or less routine," an official said.

Significantly, the Indian Navy and Coast Guard vessels are carrying out a joint operation, "Jubilee," off the Mumbai-Gujarat coast. Though its details haven’t been disclosed, it’s likely that the operation has been ordered to check anti-smuggling and anti-poaching activities.

The recent seizure of foreign currency worth Rs 2.38 crore from an Indian fishing vessel has further fuelled the Coast Guard’s suspicions. Officials suspect the money was being taken out of India to buy weapons from the flourishing clandestine armsmarkets across the border.

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Meanwhile, security has been beefed up for star Congress campaigner Sonia Gandhi and BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee’s slated election rallies here, following the serial blasts in Coimbatore that left more than 60 people dead. "We are taking adequate precautions for the rallies of national leaders and there is no need to panic," joint commissioner of police (law and order) P S Pasricha said, refusing to divulge details. When asked if Mumbai police have asked for additional reinforcements from the Centre, Pasricha replied in the negative, saying, "We’ll manage with whatever additional forces the city would receive at the time of polls."

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