Karwar: National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two individuals from Uttara Kannada district for allegedly leaking sensitive information about Karwar naval base to Pakistan in an alleged case of honey-trapping, sources said Tuesday.
A six-member NIA team took the accused duo — Vetana Tandel from Muduga village and Akshay Naik from Halavalli — into custody on Tuesday.
Investigators suspect the accused were trapped by Pakistani intelligence agencies through honey-trapping. A woman agent allegedly befriended them on Facebook in 2023 and coaxed them into providing classified details about activities in naval area, details of warships, their arrival and departure, and security information.
The NIA team, which arrived in Karwar Monday, stayed at the city police station till late night and took the duo into custody Tuesday morning in coordination with local police. The duo was presented before a local court later in the day.
In August 2024, NIA had questioned three individuals — Tandel, Naik, and Suni, from Todur —regarding the suspected espionage. While they were initially released, the agency continued to track their activities.
The accused reportedly shared photographs of the Karwar base and details of naval movements in exchange for money, said to be a monthly payout of Rs 5,000 for eight months. The espionage ring was exposed following the 2023 arrest of Deepak and others in Hyderabad by the NIA.
Authorities have traced financial transactions linking the accused to the espionage network, with money being deposited into their bank accounts. Tandel and Naik were employed on contract with Iron and Mercury, a company in the Chandya region of Karwar. Sunil, a former contract worker at the Sea Bird naval base canteen, is now a driver.
The NIA is interrogating the arrested individuals and has sought further information on their activities. Officials are in discussions with Sea Bird officers. More arrests are likely as authorities suspect a wider network is involved in the case.
INS Kadamba — also known as Naval Base Karwar or Project Seabird — is a crucial Indian Navy base in Karnataka. It is the third largest naval base in India and is set to become the largest in the eastern hemisphere after ongoing expansion. Both of India’s aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, are stationed at Karwar. The base is home to the country’s first sealift facility, which includes a shiplift and transfer system for docking and undocking ships and submarines.