MUNAMBAM: Brothers Babu and Salim, owners of Sri Krishna boat, had cast it aside for having supposedly brought them bad times. Their attempts to sell the ‘doomed’ vessel landed them in trouble.
The licence of the boat is in the name of Salim. The boat was docked at a private jetty at Maliankara for the past several years. The 16-year-old boat was used for fishing purpose only during the three fishing seasons. “The owners of the boat gave up the boat as they believed that it had brought them losses right from the beginning.
“Over the years, the owners suffered financial losses and were looking to dispose it of. Usually this kind of boat would have fetched at least `10-12 lakh. But they were ready to dispose it of for a minimum price, “said Sebastian, a resident of Maliankara. According to police, usually the traffickers use old boats in the second hand market.
The police may not arraign the owners as accused because they were not aware of the trafficking attempt. “The agents approached the owner for sale through various brokers. After coming to know that the person who is purchasing the boat is from Kanyakumari, one of the brothers had asked him to produce the identity card.
The advance amount of `15,000 was paid. But before completing the sale on Thursday, we could arrest the agents and Lankan refugees. It was only after the arrest that the owner came to know about human trafficking angle. From the initial probe, their involvement could not be found,” a police official said.