While the US government did not reveal the nationality of the arrested people, names released by authorities indicate that 10 of them are either Indians or of Indian-origin.
An American defence contractor has pleaded guilty to having illegally sent blueprints of military hardware to India, including parts used in nuclear submarines.
The owner of two New Jersey defence contracting businesses has been charged with allegedly transmitting military blueprints to India, including those for torpedo systems for nuclear submarines, without a license in violation of export laws, through a password-protected church website, United States Attorney Paul J Fishman announced.