(COLOMBO) – Another batch of 12 Indian fishermen were nabbed by the Sri Lankan Navy while allegedly poaching in the island-nation’s territorial waters, the Navy said on Tuesday.
The group was rounded up on the Palk Bay-a strip of sea that separates the two countries in the northern part of the country.
Three trawlers belonging to the Indian poachers were also seized and they were handed over to the .local authorities for follow up action.
Hundreds of Indian poachers have been arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy over the past many years but most of them are freed after a short stint in jail following diplomatic intervention from Delhi.
It was only last week, that some 20 Indian poachers were freed and handed over to the Indian Coast Guard at the International Border Line.
“The Indian poachers are becoming more daring each day simply because they know they would be released at the earliest following the intervention of their Government.
This is an ongoing carnival, and according to reports the single largest fleet of Indian vessels is owned by the regional Fisheries Minister in Tamil Nadu”, one senior naval official explained.
He could not be named for obvious reasons.
