Officer held for human trafficking: Fully cooperating with law enforcement agencies, says Navy

After the arrest of a Lieutenant Commander rank officer by Mumbai Crime Branch for alleged involvement in trafficking people to South Korea on forged documents, the Indian Navy on June 29 said it would fully cooperate with law enforcement agencies.

The Navy remains committed to holding its personnel to maintaining the highest standards of conduct always, a defence spokesperson asserted.

Lieutenant Commander Vipin Kumar Dagar (28) was arrested from Colaba in south Mumbai on Thursday for allegedly being part of a gang that was sending people to South Korea on forged documents for money.

As per police, Mr. Dagar's associates had confessed they had sent 8-10 people to the East Asian country in this manner and had charged ₹10 lakh per case.

In a statement, the defence spokesperson said, "A complaint on misconduct of an officer was received by the Navy from the Republic of Korea (RoK) Consulate in Mumbai. On investigation by the Navy, it was found that the case had possible links to a fraudulent visa racket gang." "Accordingly, Indian Navy informed the Civil Police with their concerns and information held, which started a detailed investigation. The Navy is fully cooperating with the law enforcement agencies and remains committed to holding its personnel to maintaining the highest standards of conduct always," the spokesperson added.

Police said Mr. Dagar, who is a resident of Haryana and is the son of an air force personnel, has been remanded in police custody till July 5.