Sri Lankan navy arrests 11 Indian fishermen

COLOMBO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) — Sri Lanka’s navy arrested 11 Indian fishermen for poaching in the country’s territorial waters on Friday, the navy said in a statement on Saturday.
The arrests were made during a special operation to chase away Indian trawlers poaching in the seas off Point Pedro in the country’s Northern Province, the navy said.
The navy also seized a trawler that the Indians were traveling in, the statement said, adding that the trawler and Indian fishermen were handed over to the local authority for legal proceedings.
Sri Lanka’s navy conducts regular patrols and operations in its waters to curb the illegal fishing practices of foreign fishing trawlers, the navy said.
With the arrest, the navy seized a total of 45 Indian poaching trawlers and arrested 333 Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters so far in 2024. ■