Sri Lanka Navy arrested 76 persons bound for Australia in 2 multi-day trawlers on 25th and 26th August 2012. A trawler named “Rashith Putha” with 24 persons including 12 Tamils ( 10 men and 2 women) and 12 Muslims on board and the other multi-day trawler named “ Sadev Putha I ” with 52 Tamil persons including 45 men, 5 women and 2 children on board were intercepted off Trincomalee and Manalkadu respectively.
The arrested persons are residents of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu, Trincomalee, Muttur, Ampara, Batticaloa, Kinniya, Maradankeny, Chavakachcheriya and Peduruthuduwa. They were brought to Trincomalee and KKS Harbour to be handed over to the CID for further investigations.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, August 27, 2012; Image: Sri Lanka Navy