KARWAR/ANKOLA: The NIA has arrested two individuals Akshay Naik and Vethan Thandel from Ankola and Karwar in connection with espionage and pertaining to the leakage of crucial information on the Kadamba Naval Base.
According to sources, they were taken into custody by the NIA on February 18 with the help of Karwar and Ankola Police from their respective villages.
The two individuals are being inquired separately.
The NIA team included six officers headed by two DYSPs. They visited Karwar on Monday night and gathered vital information before zeroing in on them.
They were also interrogated in August 2024 for leaking information to a Pakistani woman. She had paid the duo an amount of Rs 5000 per month for eight months.
It is learnt that the Pakistani woman sent a friend request to them in 2023 on Facebook and inquired over details after initiating communication. She had also posed herself as a marine officer.
The individuals worked as civilian contract workers at the naval base.
Sources revealed that the Pakistani national sought information pertaining to the works going on in the naval base, the arrival and departure of warships at the naval base.
The information about the involvement of two individuals was revealed when one Deepak was arrested by the NIA sleuths at Vishakapatnam. He had informed about the modus operandi during the interrogation.
Followingly, Akash and Vethan were summoned to Hyderabad for interrogation. After, the NIA had issued a notice and collected their mobile phones and other gadgets before letting them go.
However, they have been on the NIA radar since then.