Navy renders assistance to arrest 51 persons involved in illegal acts
 

The Navy has rendered assistance to take into custody 51 persons who had been involved in illegal acts at several locations in the island. Accordingly, 41 persons engaged in illegal fishing, 07 persons catching critically endangered oceanic whitetip sharks, 02 persons possessing sea turtle flesh and a person selling Pregabalin capsules without prescription were apprehended by the Navy.

Naval personnel attached to the Eastern Naval Command arrested 32 persons engaged in illegal fishing west of Norway island and in the seas off Lankapautuna on 05^th and 06^th September. Six fibre glass dinghies, 06 unauthorized fishing nets (surukku), 02 pairs of diving fins, 02 diving face masks and 78 kilogrammes of illegally caught fish catch were also taken into custody. The arrested persons and the seized fishing gear were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector-Mutur and the Assistant Fisheries Director-Trincomalee for legal action.

On 07^th September, 09 persons engaged in illegal fishing along with a locally made fishing vessel (wallam) were taken into custody by the naval personnel attached to the North Central Naval Command. A 80-metre unauthorized fishing net and 55 kilogrammes of illegally caught fish catch as well as the arrested persons were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector-Vedithalthivu for legal action.

During a raid conducted on 05^th September on the Arippu beach, on a tip-off to the Navy, 02 persons possessing 60 kilogrammes of sea turtle flesh were taken into custody by the naval personnel attached to the North Western Naval Command with the assistance of the officials of the Wild Life Department. The arrest was made while the flesh was being made ready to be transferred in a fibre glass dinghy. The arrested persons along with the turtle meat were handed over to the Wild Life Department officials for legal action.

Naval personnel attached to the Sri Lanka Coast Guard, acting on a tip-off received by the Dickowita Coast Guard Station, arrested 07 persons with 1,013 kilogrammes of oceanic whitetip sharks on 08^th September. The arrest was made in the seas off Dickowita when the illegally caught sharks were being transferred on a trawler. The arrested persons along with the shark catch and the trawler were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector-Dickowita for legal action.

During a search operation conducted in the Jaffna town on information received by the Navy, naval personnel attached to the Northern Naval Command with the assistance of the Food and Drugs Control Inspector-Jaffna arrested a person who was selling Pregabalin capsules illegally. The arrested person along with 1,428 capsules were handed over to the Food and Drugs Control Office-Jaffna for further investigations.