CHENNAI: Indian Coast Guard apprehended 15 Myanmarese along with their fishing boats for poaching of sea cucumber in Indian waters near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Friday. Working on a tip-off from Kamorta Police near Nicobar Island around 4 pm on Friday over a possible Myanmarese dinghy east of Kakana village, Kamorta Island, Indian Coast Guard Interceptor BoatC-422 was diverted for investigation, a release said.
The Myanmarese boat was engaged in illegal fishing in Indian Exclusive Economic Zone which was in clear violation of the Maritime Zones of India Act. On being sighted by C-422, the boat increased speed and started heading towards the shallow waters to evade apprehension.
Caught after chase
However, the Coast Guard ship successfully intercepted the fleeing boat along with its crew. It was found that the boat was carrying equipment like diving compressors, diving cylinders and masks for catching sea cucumbers from Indian waters. Due to wind, the boat drifted towards beach. However, all 15 poachers were shifted to Kamorta harbour by ICGS C-422 and handed over to Kamorta police.