24 Sri Lankan fishermen held in Bay of Bengal, four trawlers seized

Members of Bangladesh Navy arrested 24 Sri Lankan fishermen and seized four trawlers for fishing illegally inside Bangladeshi maritime boundary in Chattogram yesterday.

A team of Bangladesh Navy spotted the four fishing trawlers near Chattogram sea port in the Bay of Bengal yesterday afternoon and arrested the 24 fishermen of Sri Lankan origin, said Utpal Barua, officer-in-charge of Patenga Police Station.

The navy team also seized the four fishing trawlers, our Chattogram correspondent reports quoting the OC.

Later, the arrested fishermen were handed over to Patenga Police Station last night, he said.

Shafiqul Islam, an official of Bangladesh Navy, filed a case against the Sri Lankan nationals with the police station in this connection, said the OC.

Today, police produced the 24 arrestees before a Chattogram court, added the OC.