Rameswaram:In a lightning nocturnal operation based on a tip-off, Sri Lankan Naval personnel intercepted a country-craft near the International Maritime Boundary (IMB) line towards their side, seized about 2.38 tonnes of ‘beedi’ leaves allegedly being carted to Sri Lanka and arrested six men from Tamil Nadu in the boat late on Monday night.
Reports reaching here on Tuesday said that the Island-Navy got some “inputs” of alleged smuggling of ‘beedi leaves’ through the IML into Sri Lanka by the sea route in the Gulf of Mannar area.
A Sri Lankan Naval patrol boat, 22 nautical miles east of Puththalam noticed the country-craft crossing the IML when they seized the consignment on the boat and arrested six persons from Tamil Nadu.
The ‘beedi’ leaves were stuffed in 74 bags, sources said.
The arrested persons were later handed over to the police at Puththalam in northern Sri Lanka, who were remanded to custody by a local court there. The 'beedi' leaves consignment was handed over to the Narcotics Bureau in Colombo.
In the last one month alone, Sri Lankan Navy had seized 27 tonnes of ‘beedi’ leaves sought to be smuggled into Sri Lanka by sea from Tamil Nadu, sources said.
6 RAMNAD FISHERS RELEASED:
Meanwhile, a court in Jaffna on Tuesday ordered the release of six fishermen from Ramanathapuram who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy recently for allegedly intruding into their waters while fishing. The court directed that they should submit the documents for claiming their boat in the court on September 17, failing which the boat will be “nationalised” by the Island-government.
