Honey-Trap Espionage: Navy Sailors, IAF Personnel Among Those Accused In Spy Cases

A suspected “honey-trap” espionage racket involving Indian Navy personnel in Visakhapatnam has once again brought the security of defence establishments under scrutiny.

The Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence Cell (CIC) has questioned 13 Navy personnel and identified 18 suspects over the alleged sharing of maritime intelligence with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). Investigators are examining whether sensitive information concerning naval assets and installations was passed to the PIOs, as per Hindustan Times.

The CIC on Tuesday announced the arrest of two people in connection with the case, Indian Navy sailor Pradeep Mukherjee, posted with the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, and Annam Sai Varaprasad, a contractual driver for the Navy.

The case is the latest in a series of espionage investigations in which defence personnel and employees linked to strategic establishments were allegedly approached through social media, messaging applications or online relationships.

Operation Dolphin’s Nose

The latest case has similarities with an espionage racket busted by the Andhra Pradesh CIC in December 2019 at the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam under “Operation Dolphin’s Nose”.

Fifteen people were arrested in that case, including seven Indian Navy sailors and a Mumbai-based hawala operator. They were booked for allegedly having links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence and spying for Pakistan after women allegedly lured the sailors into online relationships.

Officials said the sailors were recruited in early 2017 and were contacted about a year later by “three to four women”. The women allegedly introduced them to a businessman who was identified by investigators as a Pakistani handler. The sailors were allegedly paid through a hawala operator.

The case remains under investigation and the accused are in prison.

Recent Military Espionage Cases

The alleged use of online relationships in espionage cases has continued to surface.

In May this year, a 44-year-old serving Indian Air Force Wing Commander was arrested in Delhi for allegedly sharing sensitive defence information and classified documents with a PIO after being honey-trapped through social media.

Police said the officer was allegedly contacted by a woman suspected of working for Pakistani intelligence. A case was registered at the Special Cell police station under relevant provisions of the Official Secrets Act. The officer was taken into judicial custody in June.

In March last year, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested two employees of ordnance factories in Firozabad and Kanpur for allegedly sharing confidential information with Pakistan’s ISI. Investigators said they were targeted through a fake Facebook profile named “Neha Sharma”. The two were allegedly contacted first on Facebook and later on WhatsApp, where they were allegedly offered money and blackmailed.

Defence Tech Employees Under Scanner

The alleged targeting has also extended to private-sector and research-linked personnel.

The Maharashtra ATS arrested Ravi Vermaa, a 27-year-old engineer working for a private defence technology company contracted by the Indian Navy, for allegedly passing restricted documents related to the naval dockyard to a PIO.

Investigators said a woman initially contacted Vermaa through a fake social media profile before moving the conversation to WhatsApp. The alleged transfer of documents took place between November 2024 and March 2025.

In 2023, the Maharashtra ATS arrested Pradeep Kurulkar, then head of the DRDO’s Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) laboratory in Pune.

Investigators said Kurulkar was contacted by a woman identifying herself as “Zara Dasgupta”, who they alleged was a Pakistani intelligence operative. The ATS alleged that Kurulkar exchanged WhatsApp messages, voice calls and video calls with her and shared sensitive defence-related information. Investigators also alleged that he offered to show her a classified report relating to the BrahMos missile project. The agency reportedly filed a chargesheet running to more than 1,000 pages.

Earlier Honey-trap Cases

Similar allegations have surfaced in cases involving Army and Air Force personnel.

In July 2022, Rajasthan Police arrested Army soldier Shantimoy Rana for allegedly sharing classified information about his regiment and videos of military exercises with two PIOs.

Police said the two women contacted Rana through social media and WhatsApp while posing as people linked to the Military Engineering Service and Military Nursing Service. Investigators also alleged that Rana received money in exchange for the information.

Earlier that year, Delhi Police arrested IAF jawan Devendra Sharma, an administrative assistant at the Air Force Records Office in Subroto Park. He was accused of being honey-trapped by a Pakistan-based woman and leaking sensitive information concerning defence installations and personnel. The Air Force had initiated court-martial proceedings before handing him over to the police.

The BrahMos case remains one of the prominent espionage cases involving a defence-linked employee.

In 2018, BrahMos Aerospace engineer Nishant Agarwal was arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan. Investigators alleged that he was honey-trapped through fake social media profiles and that sensitive information related to the BrahMos programme was accessed through his computer.

Agarwal was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Nagpur court in 2024. In December 2025, the Bombay High Court set aside the life sentence, holding that the prosecution had failed to establish that sensitive data had been transmitted to Pakistani operatives.

His conviction for negligence in handling classified material was retained, carrying a three-year sentence that he had already served.