Colombo: The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 18 Indian fishermen and seized their trawlers for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters, an official statement said on Wednesday, in the third such incident this month.
The fishermen were arrested, and their two trawlers seized on Tuesday off the coast of Mannar in the northeast, the Sri Lanka Navy said in a press release.
The 18 apprehended fishermen were escorted to the Thalpadu Pier in Mannar and will be handed over to the Talaimannar Fisheries Inspector for further action, it said.
On Sunday, as many as ten Indian fishermen were arrested, and their trawler seized for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters, while 12 Indian fishermen were apprehended on Saturday.