Indian Coast Guard intercepts Iranian fishing vessel off Kerala coast, six fishermen detained | Watch
Indian crew on board, west of Beypore off the coast of Kerala late on May 05, 2024, the Indian defence ministry said, adding that the swift sea-air coordinated operation involved the ships and aircraft of the ICG. Taking to the microblogging platform (formerly known as Twitter), the Indian Coast Guard posted," In a swift sea-air coordinated operation intercepts & detains #Iranian fishing vessel in #Arabian sea west off #Kerala coast with 06 #Indian crew employed on contractual basis at Iran. Crew alleges exploitation & mistreatment by the boat owner.
The boat has been brought to #Kochi for further investigation. Upholding maritime security & welfare #ICG demonstrates unwavering commitment." Six Indian crew, hailing from Kanyakumari in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, were taken into custody, and the vessel has been brought to Kochi for further investigations, the Indian Coast Guard said. "The boat went out of fuel when it reached Koyilandy.
All those who were taken into custody were fishermen who had gone to Iran from Kanyakumari for fishing around one and half years ago," PTI quoted a police officer as saying. The police officer further said as per the preliminary assumption, they were on their way to their native place after escaping from Iran. "As per their statement, they were not getting any salary and were suffering ill-treatment in Iran.
They said they even had to suffer physical assault from the employer. So they escaped in the same boat they had been engaged in fishing," he said. Earlier on April 29, in back to back Anti-Narco Operations, the India Coast Guard ship jointly with ATS Gujarat apprehended a fishing boat with 173 Kg narcotics and 2 perpetrators at sea.
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