The Special Court for National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Vijayawada on Monday granted custody of the 13 persons, including 11 Navy personnel, who were booked and arrested on the charges of espionage, for five days to the NIA.

According to official sources, the NIA which took over the case from the State’s Counter Intelligence Cell police station in Vijayawada in December has appealed to the court seeking custody of the accused, including the 11 Navy personnel and two hawala operators, to carry out further investigation.

The court granted custody of the 13 accused from January 18 to January 22.

In all, 18 persons were named as accused by the police in the case and some of them are in judicial custody that extends up to January 23.

The espionage racket was busted in a joint operation by the Andhra Pradesh Police, central intelligence agencies and Naval intelligence. The accused were allegedly found sharing confidential information about the Navy with outsiders over the phone.