Overview
- The AP Counter Intelligence Cell launched Operation Firewall‑2026 on Thursday, October 1, deploying 12 teams across 10 states to investigate an 18‑member espionage module and seize electronic evidence.
- Two men have been remanded to judicial custody after arrests: naval employee Pradeep Mukherjee, who was detained while in training on Saturday, October 3, and civilian driver Annam Sai Varaprasad, both accused of passing sensitive naval information to Pakistan‑based operatives.
- Investigators say 13 of the 18 suspects are navy personnel and that the alleged leaks concerned field‑level details of the Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam, a strategically sensitive base for ships and submarines.
- Authorities describe a tradecraft that used fake female social‑media profiles to honey‑trap targets, move conversations to encrypted WhatsApp, solicit OTPs for account activation, and route payments via cryptocurrency and intermediaries.
- Seized phones, CCTV and financial records have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory and the case is being prosecuted under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the UAPA and the Official Secrets Act as investigators assess operational damage and wider links.