Four Filipino crew members of a merchant vessel were caught off Odisha coast for using the banned 'Thuraya' satellite communication set on board, Coast Guard officials said today.
Alajandro C Dango, master of the vessel 'Frontier Triumph', and three other crew members, were caught on June 9 and the ship was detained off Dhamra port.
Customs, police and the Coast Guard spent a number of days to investigate the purpose and usage of the set and then lodged an FIR against them at Dhamra marine police station on June 20.
Officials said two calls were made from the banned satellite phone which has been frequently used by terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir. It was used during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Use of Thuraya satellite phones is banned in Indian territorial waters under section 6 of Indian Wireless Act and section 20 of Indian Telegraph Act.
On June 9, the Threat Management System (TMS) at Coast Guard Regional Headquarters in Kolkata picked up transmissions originating from an unauthorised communication equipment off the shores of Bengal from within Indian waters.
The geographical location of the source of transmissions was identified and Indian Coast Guard Ships (ICGS) Amogh and Sarojini Naidu based at Paradip were diverted to investigate the matter.
A merchant vessel Frontier Triumph was found anchored at the location after which the investigation team boarded the vessel to discover the banned satellite communication set concealed under the label "Marino Phonepal".
The crew had not declared the presence of the set in the Pre Arrival Notification System (PANS) of the vessel, a mandatory declaration for all boats and ships that intend to enter Indian waters.
