SLN arrests Indian poachers in northern waters

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 December 2003, 13:52 GMT]
The Kayts Magistrate, Mr.Annalingam Premashankar, Wednesday remanded 11 Indian boatmen till 5th December when the police produced them on a report they had entered the territorial waters of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Navy took 71 Indian fishermen and 11 trawlers into custody Tuesday night when they had been engaged in fishing in northern waters off Karainagar-Kayts coast, police said.

The SLN officials located in Karainagar handed over the Indian boatmen to Kayts Police Wednesday early morning. The 59 remaining Indian fishermen had been detained at the Karainagar SLN base awaiting instruction from the superiors to release them to the Indian Coast Guard in the midsea, police told court.

The Indian trawlers also had been kept in the custody of the SLN base in Karainagar, police said.

Meanwhile, the Kayts Magistrate, legal sources said, also ordered remand for two other Indian boatmen arrested by the SLN on Monday night in the same area till December 5. Their trawlers had also been kept in the SLN Karainagar base, police said.