Navy apprehends 06 persons engaged in illegal activities
 

Navy apprehended 06 persons engaged in illegal activities in separate locations of the island over the past couple of days. Accordingly, 04 persons engaged in illegal fishing and 02 suspects for possessing Kerala cannabis were held in connection with their unlawful acts.

Based on information received by Navy, a group of naval personnel attached to the Western Naval Command in coordination with STF personnel of Gonahena carried out a search in Grandpass on 28 February and nabbed a suspect for possessing 500g of Kerala cannabis. The suspect along with cannabis which was made ready to be sold had been handed over to the Police Station - Grandpass for onward legal action.

Meanwhile, naval troops attached to the Eastern Naval Command during a search conducted in the lagoon area of Batticaloa on 01 March managed to find 15 monofilament nets that are 150ft in length. The unauthorized fishing nets were handed over to the Assistant Directorate of Fisheries in Batticaloa for onward action.

On receipt of a tip-off, naval personnel attached to the Western Naval Command together with STF personnel of Gonahena carried out a search in Wattala on 01 March to apprehend a suspect with 750g of Kerala cannabis. The suspect along with cannabis which was made ready to be sold had been handed over to the Mahabage Police for onward legal action.

Meanwhile, 03 persons engaged in illegal fishing practices using unauthorized fishing nets in the seas off Palugasthurai and lagoon area of Serakkuliya were apprehended by naval personnel attached to the Northwestern Naval Command on 02 March. Two dinghies and 02 unauthorized fishing nets used for this illegal fishing activity were also seized along with the suspects. The apprehended persons and fishing gear were handed over to the Assistant Director of Fisheries, Puttalam for onward action.

Based on information received to the Eastern Naval Command, naval personnel belonging to the same command held a person with 40kg of fish caught by means of explosives in Kokkadi on 02 March. The stock of fish was being transferred by a motorbike when the apprehension was made. The apprehended suspect, the motorbike and the stock of fish were handed over to the Muththur Fisheries Inspector for further investigations.