Diesel smuggling racket busted off Mumbai coast, ten held

Mumbai, Nov 7 (PTI) Police have busted a diesel smuggling racket with the arrest of ten persons and seized around 10,000 litres of the fuel off the city coast, an official said on Friday.

Acting on a specific information, a team of Mumbai Police intercepted the barges Shri Anant Laxmi and M T Pranay near the new fish jetty at Bhaucha Dhakka here late on Thursday night, he said.

Diesel, electric pump equipment and the barges, worth a total of Rs 4.59 crore, were seized during the operation, he said.

The accused were booked under sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS along with sections of the Essential Commodities Act and the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractises) Order, 2005 of the Union government.

Further probe is on, the official said. PTI DC KRK