COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan navy on Thursday arrested nine Indian fishermen for poaching illegally in the island's northern seas.
One Indian fishing trawler was also seized and the arrested fishermen along with the trawler were handed over to the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of Jaffna, Xinhua news agency reported.
The arrests came a day after Colombo decided to free 99 Indian fishermen who were in Sri Lankan custody for illegally poaching in its territorial waters.
The fishermen are expected to be handed over to the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka this week and repatriated in the coming days.
Fishermen from India and Sri Lanka face arrest when they stray illegally into the waters of each other's waters.