In a multi-agency effort, INS Baratang of the Tri-services Andaman and Nicobar Command arrested nine Myanmarese poachers off Sir Hugh Rose Island in the Andaman group of islands on Thursday.
With this, the total number of Myanmarese poachers arrested so far this year has reached 154. Fifty-three poachers were held by the forces during the corresponding last year.
The latest batch of poachers on a boat was sighted by the naval detachment on Neil Island. Though naval sailors chased the boat, the poachers sailed away to Sir Hugh Rose Island. While the Navy informed the A&N Command about the poaching activity, the local police was alerted by an islander.
Soon, INS Baratang, which was patrolling the area, was asked to locate the poachers. A Coast Guard Dornier maritime patrol aircraft was directed to undertake aerial surveillance.
The Dornier located the boat and passed on the information INS Baratang, which nabbed the poachers and seized their boat. The boat was towed to Port Blair, where the boat and the poachers were handed over to the police.
