Counterintelligence — 2026-10-09

India Arrests Navy Personnel and Civilian in Operation Firewall Espionage Sweep Against Pakistan Intelligence

BLUFIndia's Operation Firewall sweep is likely to yield additional arrests by November 9 as investigators work through 16 remaining suspects, most of them naval personnel, across 10 states.

The Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence Cell arrested Annam Sai Varaprasad, a civilian contract driver for naval officers, and Pradeep Mukharjee, a Visakhapatnam naval base employee, in an alleged Pakistan-linked espionage case, according to an official release reported by The Federal and Deccan Chronicle 12. Operation Firewall-2026 began on October 1, with 12 teams working across 10 states and territories and examining 18 suspects, 13 of them naval personnel 23. Deccan Chronicle dates the arrests to October 3, at Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore; both men are remanded until October 14 2. Police allege Varaprasad took money for passing classified naval information, and that Mukharjee shared a WhatsApp OTP with Pakistani operatives 4. Investigators described a honey-trap method using fake social media profiles, with payments via cryptocurrency 2.

Analysis
Indian authorities will likely announce at least one additional arrest in Operation Firewall-2026 beyond Varaprasad and Mukharjee by November 9, 2026. Sixteen suspects remain under examination, 11 of them naval personnel, and forensic review of the seized devices could supply the prima facie evidence needed for further charges. Confidence is moderate, because everything traces to a single Andhra Pradesh Police release and the wider coverage only repeats it, so no independent signal shows who is next. The sweep may instead have been mainly a deterrent and screening exercise, with the other suspects cleared or handled through internal Navy discipline rather than public arrests. If more arrests come, naval security chiefs and state counter-intelligence units will widen personnel vetting and device audits. If none do, base-level countermeasures at Visakhapatnam can stay targeted.
4 sources
  1. Andhra Police arrest 2 in alleged Pakistan espionage case; 13 Navy personnel among 18 suspects - The Federal
  2. AP CI Cell Busts Alleged Espionage Module with Pak Links - Deccan Chronicle
  3. Operation Firewall: Navy Employee, Another Arrested In Andhra Over Suspected Pakistan Espionage - Outlook India
  4. 2 arrested in Andhra for spying for Pakistan, including naval staffer - Business Today

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