A total of 11 Myanmarese poachers were arrested from a remote location in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during a three-day operation that began on April 4, officials said.
The suspects were apprehended from Nancowry Island in Nicobar district as part of “Sea Sentinel”, an anti-poaching operation carried out by the police in coordination with the Indian Coast Guard and Army.
DGP Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal said the operation was launched in sea areas off Kakana, Pilpillow, Pondha and Dering on April 4 at 9 am. A suspected Myanmarese poaching vessel was detected near the coast of North Kakana. To evade arrest, the poachers cut their vessel’s anchor rope and fled toward the southeast off Tillong Chaung.
Police and Coast Guard teams pursued and fired two warning rounds, but the vessel continued to flee and was later found abandoned near Isle of Man Island. The poachers had escaped into dense forest.
On April 5, a joint police–Army team caught one Myanmarese national after a brief chase. On April 6, 10 more foreign nationals were arrested hiding in forested areas, bringing the total to 11 detained during the operation.
Officials also recovered about 800 kg of illegally harvested sea cucumber. The arrests followed coordinated patrolling and interception efforts under Operation Sea Sentinel.
