In a massive crackdown in the Pakistan-led Visakhapatnam espionage case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) searched multiple locations across the country yesterday.

According to the NIA, extensive searches were conducted at 16 locations in Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Haryana. The premises searched by NIA teams were linked with suspects who had received money from Pakistan to undertake spying activities in India.

The NIA statement said a total of 22 mobile phones and a host of sensitive documents were seized during the searches. The case involved leakage of sensitive information related to the Indian Navy as part of an anti-India conspiracy hatched from across the border.

NIA had filed a chargesheet last year against two accused, including an absconding Pakistani national, Meer Balaj Khan. Investigations had revealed that Meer Balaj Khan, along with an arrested accused, Akash Solanki, had been involved in the espionage racket. In November last year, the NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet against two other accused, Manmohan Surendra Panda and Alven. Panda has been arrested, while Alven, a Pakistani intelligence operation, is absconding. In May this year, NIA filed its second supplementary chargesheet against one accused, Amaan Salim Shaikh, conspiring with Pakistan Intelligence Operatives.