Coast Guard ship apprehends 17 more Myanmarese poachers

Port Blair, Apr 11 (UNI) In a special anti-poaching operation Indian Coast Guard apprehended 17 more Myanmarese poachers from Andaman Sea, officials said today.

Coast Guard Ship 'Lakshmi Bai,' while patrolling near Northern side of Andaman Sea sighted two suspicious dinghies off land Fall Island.

As the Coast Guard ship was approaching, they started fleeing away towards Coco Islands, said Commandant Akshay Jain, the Public Relation Officer of Andaman and Nicobar Coast Guard Region.

After a hot pursuit, both the dinghies were stopped and it was found that they hadof Myanmarese poachers and equipped with underwater diving equipment. The dinghies contained adequate fuel and illegally fished sea cucumber.

The ship, along with apprehended poachers and dinghies, entered Port Blair late yesterday evening. The dinghies and crew were handed over to local police for further legal action, Commandant Jain added.

In an earlier anti-poaching operation earlier this week, another Coast Guard Ship 'Akka Devi' had apprehended 14 Myanmarese poachers with a huge amount of sea cucumber.

Sea Cucumber, a kind of sea anemone, is of great demand in South East Asian countries, where they are used for preparing soup and medicines.

UNI