Sri Lanka Navy arrests 43 illegal migrants bound for Australia

Sri Lanka Navy today arrested another 43 illegal migrants bound for Australia and handed them over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for further investigations. A fast Naval Patrol Craft attached to the Western Naval Command has intercepted the multi-day fishing trawler with the 43 people onboard in the sea about 20 nautical miles west of Negombo.
The arrested, 33 Tamils and 10 Sinhalese have been escorted to Modera Fisheries Harbour to hand them over to CID. The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 633 illegal migrants fleeing to Australia last month alone. The Navy has increased vigilance around the country's coasts to prevent human smuggling but the exercise has not been effective in preventing the rising attempts by would-be asylum seekers.