MV Seaman Guard Ohio at the Tuticorin port
A team of the Tamil Nadu police's Q branch has reached Tuticorin to investigate an American ship, which has been detained for illegally entering Indian waters and carrying guns and ammunition without permission. Sources say that the investigations by Tamil Nadu Coastal Security will be handed over to the Q branch team, headed by Superintendent of Police Bhawani Ishwari.
Currently, multiple agencies including the Intelligence Bureau, RAW and the Tamil Nadu Coastal Security Group are carrying out investigations.
The Q branch of the Tamil Nadu police deals with cases related to weaponry and national security. The Q branch team is meeting various officials involved in the investigations and will be inspecting the ship, impounded on Saturday, and question the detained 35-member crew, against whom an FIR has been filed.
The ship, MV Seaman Guard Ohio, is reportedly registered in Sierra Leone but is owned by an American company which specialises in maritime security against pirates. Representatives of the firm in India have met with Coast Guard officials to discuss the case. Investigations are on to determine if the ship was involved in arms trafficking.
31 assault rifles and around 5,000 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the ship that was detained at the Tuticorin coast in Tamil Nadu early on Saturday morning, 600 km south of Chennai.