COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's navy arrested 22 Indian fishermen for poaching in the country's territorial waters on Monday, the navy said in a statement on Tuesday.

The arrest was made during a special operation to chase away Indian trawlers poaching in the seas off Kudiramalai Point in the country's North Western Province, the navy said. A number of other Indian fishing vessels fled, the navy said.

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The navy also seized two trawlers that the Indians were traveling in, the statement said, adding that the trawlers and Indian fishermen would be handed over to the local authority for legal proceedings.

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Sri Lanka's navy conducts regular patrols and operations in its waters to curb illegal fishing practices of foreign fishing trawlers, the navy said.

With the arrest, the navy has seized a total of 40 Indian poaching trawlers and arrested 287 Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters so far in 2024.