MUMBAI, May 18 (Reuters) - An Indian court on Friday handed out its first sentences to some of the dozens of people connected with serial bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993, one of the deadliest attacks in India.

Five people, fishermen and boat loaders who were accused of helping provide arms and explosives, were sentenced to three years each over the blasts, which killed 257 people.

A court has spent 13 years probing the 13 explosions in the country's financial hub. The Bombay Stock Exchange building, a cinema hall and a busy market were among the places hit.

"All these five accused were found to be transporting contraband goods," said Judge P.D. Kode, adding that sufficient evidence had shown the goods were brought to India and offloaded on the western coast of Maharashtra state.

Mumbai is the capital of the state.

Kode also ordered the five men to each pay a 25,000 rupees ($615) fine.

One hundred people have been convicted over the blasts. The sentencing of the remaining 95 people is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

Police say India's most wanted man, Dawood Ibrahim, a suspected Mumbai mafia don, was behind the attacks. The police say he wanted to avenge the razing of a historic mosque by Hindu extremists in 1992.

Indian officials say Ibrahim, a Muslim, is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, but Islamabad denies this.

The most high-profile of the accused is Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, 47, known for his roles as a gangster with a heart of gold.

He was convicted of illegally procuring an assault rifle and a pistol from criminals connected with the 1993 blasts -- an offence that could mean a jail term of several years.

Dutt's lawyers have said the actor, on bail after spending more than a year in jail during initial investigations, should be given probation and not sent to jail as he was a first-time offender and his conduct during the 13-year trial has been good.

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