COLOMBO, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lanka Navy arrested eight Indian fishermen for illegally entering the country's northern waters on Friday night, the navy media unit said here Saturday.
A steel hull bottom trawler was also taken into custody. The fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy Fast Attack Craft in the northern territorial waters, southeast of Point Pedro.
The apprehended Indian fishermen, trawler and fishing gear were handed over to the Jaffna Assistant Director of Fisheries for onward legal action, the navy said.
The Sri Lankan government has warned that Indian fishermen trespassing into Sri Lankan waters to fish illegally will continue to be arrested and their boats will be taken into custody.
Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen often face arrests when they enter each other's territorial waters illegally with both countries attempting to find a lasting solution to their fishing dispute.
