Sri Lanka Navy arrested 57 persons illegally bound for Australia in a multi-day trawler on 16 th August 2012.
The trawler named “Pushpa Rejini” was intercepted 40 nautical miles off Pigeon Island in Trincomalee. Thirty-nine (39) men, eight (8) women and 10 children (6 boys and 4 girls) were among the arrested. They are residents of Trincomalee, Jaffna, Batticaloa and Mannar.
The arrested persons that included 52 Tamils and 5 Sinhalese were brought to Trincomalee Harbour to be handed over to the CID for further investigations.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, August 17, 2012; Image: Sri Lanka Navy