4 Myanmarese poachers apprehended by Indian Coast Guard near Andaman

at 3:51 pm
Coast Guard apprehended Myanmarese poachers in Indian EEZ

New Delhi (NVI): Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has apprehended four Myanmarese for poaching in Indian waters off Barren Island near Andaman.

The Myanmarese were engaged in illegal fishing in Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Defence Ministry said in a statement today.

Indian Coast Guard ship Rajshree, during a routine patrol, sighted one boat operating off Barren Island close to the coast in the wee hours of May 2, it said.

The ICG ship tried to establish communication with the boat, however, the boat did not respond.

Instead, the poachers carried out forced ditching of their boat on the rocky shores of Barren and tried to flee into the Island, the statement said.

The manoeuvre by the ICG boarding party resulted in the apprehension of two poachers, while others managed to escape into the dense forest on the island.

The boarding party also recovered fish catch, including sea cucumber, turtle skull and conch shells from poachers boat, it added.

Two of the missing poachers were apprehended a day later on May 3. The apprehended poachers were handed over to local police at Port Blair for further investigation.

It is suspected that some of the poachers were still hiding in the dense forest on Barren Island. The ICG, in coordination with local police, is carrying out a joint search operation for the missing poachers, the statement read.