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Coast Guard busts international oil smuggling racket off Mumbai, seizes 3 vessels

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Mumbai, Feb 7: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) seized three vessels off Mumbai and busted an international oil smuggling racket involving handlers operating across multiple countries, coordinating the sale and transfer of cargo between ships at sea, an official said on Saturday.

Following a meticulously planned sea-air coordinated operation on Thursday and Friday, the three apprehended vessels are likely to be escorted to Mumbai for further investigation, according to an official statement.

The vessels will be handed over to Indian Customs and other law enforcement agencies for appropriate legal action, it said.

Preliminary findings indicate that the vessels frequently changed their identities to evade detection by maritime law enforcement agencies, and that their owners are based in foreign countries, it added.

The operation dismantled an intricate network involved in the illicit transfer of large volumes of oil and oil-based cargo originating from conflict-ridden regions, the statement said.

Earlier on Thursday, three suspect vessels were intercepted by Indian Coast Guard ships approximately 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai. Sustained rummaging of the vessels, corroboration of electronic data recovered on board, verification of documents, and detailed interrogation of crew members enabled the ICG’s specialist boarding teams to establish the complete chain of events and confirm the criminal modus operandi.

The smuggling syndicate employed a modus operandi wherein cheap oil was transported by seagoing vessels and transferred mid-sea to motor tankers in international waters.

Initial investigations revealed that the syndicate comprised handlers operating across multiple countries, coordinating the sale and transfer of cargo between vessels at sea, the statement said.

The operation was initiated following detection by the ICG’s technology-enabled surveillance systems, which identified a motor tanker engaged in suspicious activity within the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

A subsequent digital investigation and data pattern analysis of vessel movements led to the identification of two additional vessels converging on the tanker, suspected to be involved in illicit ship-to-ship transfer of oil-based cargo, thereby evading substantial duties owed to coastal states, including India.

Crime

‘A dangerous profession’: Many US presidents have faced assassination attempts

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New York, April 26: “It’s a dangerous profession”, US President Donald Trump said when a reporter asked him about the latest assassination attempt against him.

It indeed is: He has faced three assassination attempts, the latest on Saturday, with one attempt during his presidential campaign injuring him.

Like him, many US presidents have come under violent attacks, and four were killed.

On July 13, 2024, when Trump was campaigning for president’s elections in Pennsylvania, he had a miraculous escape with the bullet only grazing his ear as he tilted his head to look at a chart projected on a giant screen.

It fatally struck a man on the stage behind him, and the gunman who fired at him at the open-air venue from a nearby building was killed by a Secret Service sharpshooter.

There was a furore over the security lapse, and several Secret Service personnel faced action.

Two months later, on September 15, 2024, a man was discovered hidden in the shrubbery with a rifle at the fence around Trump’s golf course in Florida.

A Secret Service agent fired at him, but he fled and was later captured, put on trial and sentenced in February to life in prison.

Like many politicians across the ideological spectrum and judges and other officials, Trump continually gets death threats in a sharply polarised nation.

The Hilton Hotel, where Saturday’s attempt against Trump took place, featured in another presidential assassination attempt: It was against Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded in March 1981 outside the hotel.

Reagan suffered a puncture to his lung in the attack by a man who was declared insane and escaped trial.

The man, John Hinckley, claimed he tried to kill Reagan to impress the actress, Jodie Foster, on whom he had a fixation.

John F. Kennedy was a presidential victim to die. He was killed in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, by an American who had defected to the Soviet Union and returned to the US.

That man, Lee Harvey Oswald, was, in turn, killed by Jack Ruby, who was said to be angry at him, but it gave rise to several conspiracy theories.

Oswald shot Kennedy from a building while the president was riding in an open car.

John Kennedy’s brother, Robert, was killed five years later in California while he was campaigning for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

Gerald Ford came close to being killed by a member of a cult in September 1975 in California.

But the gun pointed at him from a close range failed, and the woman wielding it spent 34 years in prison for it.

An Indian origin man, Sai Varshith Kandula, who rammed a truck at a barrier to the White House in May 2023, said he planned to kill Joe Biden and take over the country.

He had a Nazi flag in his truck and expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

President Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated. He was shot dead on April 18, 1865, inside a Washington theatre.

Lincoln had led the nation in the Civil War, in which he defeated the secessionist states that opposed the abolition of slavery.

Other presidents killed are James Garfield in 1881 and William McKinley in 1901.

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Crime

Navi Mumbai Police Seize ₹136 Crore Drugs In 4 Years, 2,396 Arrested In Massive Anti-Narcotics Crackdown

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Navi Mumbai, April 25: In a massive anti-narcotics crackdown, Navi Mumbai Police have seized drugs worth Rs 136.03 crore over the past four years, registering 1,993 cases and arresting 2,396 accused under the NDPS Act.

The action, led by Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe under the “Nasha Mukt Navi Mumbai” campaign, also resulted in the deportation of 1,571 foreign nationals, with 911 blacklisted for illegal stay and alleged involvement in drug-related activities.

Police said the crackdown involved a series of coordinated operations, including Operation Garuda, Operation African Kitchen and Operation Prahar, targeting both local peddlers and larger trafficking networks.

In one of the biggest drives in 2024, 75 officers and 300 personnel raided 25 locations simultaneously, detaining 89 suspects and seizing large quantities of cocaine, mephedrone (MD) and tramadol tablets.

Investigations by the Anti-Narcotics Cell, led by Senior Police Inspector Sandeep Nigade, exposed international and inter-state drug syndicates. A major breakthrough came with the busting of a hydroponic ganja racket linked to Thailand, leading to the arrest of key accused Navin and Dhiraj Chinchkar from Malaysia.

The case also led to the dismissal of two Navi Mumbai police constables under service rules and the arrest of 26 individuals, including a Customs officer and two postal employees.

In another operation, police dismantled a Punjab-based heroin trafficking network, seizing drugs worth Rs 5.32 crore. Seven cases were registered, with 56 accused identified. Of these, 44 were arrested from Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, Amritsar, Pune and Chennai, and are currently lodged in Taloja Central Jail.

On the local front, stringent action under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) was taken against a Rabale-based gang led by Shantabai Karandekar, dismantling a key distribution network. Under Operation Prahar, raids were conducted at 48 locations targeting street-level drug suppliers.

Between January 1, 2023, and April 14, 2026, police deported 1,571 foreign nationals, while notices were issued to 84 individuals for overstaying their visas, as part of efforts to curb illegal activities linked to narcotics.

Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe said, “Making Navi Mumbai completely drug-free is our top priority. We are targeting not just local peddlers but also international and inter-state supply chains. Our zero-tolerance policy will continue, and strict action will be taken against anyone involved in the drug trade.”

Year-wise action under NDPS Act

2023: 290 cases, 353 arrests, drugs worth Rs 21 crore seized

2024: 484 cases, 609 arrests, drugs worth Rs 30 crore seized

2025: 990 cases, 1,156 arrests, drugs worth Rs 67.48 crore seized

Till March 2026: 229 cases, 278 arrests, drugs worth Rs 17.27 crore seized

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Crime

32-Year-Old Thane Man Strangles Wife To Death; Arrested Within 24 Hours

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Thane: In a chilling case of alleged domestic violence, a 32-year-old man was arrested for allegedly strangling his wife following a dispute at their residence in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said on Saturday.

the accused, identified as Naresh Kamalsingh Khadka, was apprehended from Panvel in neighbouring Navi Mumbai within 24 hours of the incident. The swift arrest came after he allegedly fled the scene in the immediate aftermath of the crime.

Senior Inspector Abhay Mahajan, providing details of the case, said the incident took place in the early hours of Friday, April 24, at the couple’s residence in the Agakhanwadi area. Preliminary investigations suggest that a domestic discord escalated into a fatal confrontation, during which the accused allegedly strangled his wife, Hima Khadka.

The crime came to light after neighbours, alerted by the situation, informed the police. A team rushed to the spot and found the woman unresponsive. She was later declared dead, and her body was sent to a government hospital for postmortem examination to determine the exact cause of death.

Police officials said the accused had fled the residence soon after the incident. Acting on leads and conducting a manhunt, teams tracked him down to Panvel, where he was taken into custody.

A case has been registered against the accused under Section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigators are now working to establish the precise motive behind the killing, while also examining the couple’s background and any history of disputes.

Further investigation into the case is underway.

Acting under the directions of the Commissioner of Police, Greater Mumbai, the Mumbai Police carried out a special drive between January 1, 2026 and March 31, 2026 to trace and apprehend wanted and absconding accused.

During the drive, a total of 367 accused were successfully arrested and produced before the concerned courts. Significantly, 18 of those arrested had been absconding for over 20 years, reflecting the sustained and meticulous efforts of the police machinery.

Among the notable achievements, the Azad Maidan Police Station arrested an accused who had been absconding since 1987, while the N. M. Joshi Marg Police Station apprehended another accused who had been on the run since 1988.

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