The Sri Lanka Navy has launched a rescue operation after an Indian fishing vessel engaged in illegal fishing activities off Delft Island met with an accident late last night (05).

The vessel was carrying 11 persons at the time of the incident. Naval officials confirmed that rescue teams have been deployed to save those on board.

The Navy said the accident occurred while the vessel was operating unlawfully within Sri Lankan territorial waters. Efforts are continuing to secure the crew and bring them ashore safely. (Newswire)

The post Navy launches rescue after Indian fishing vessel accident near Delft Island appeared first on Newswire.

Sri Lanka’s Navy has uncovered approximately 150 kilograms of heroin from a multi‑day fishing vessel intercepted in the deep sea south of the island.

Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara confirmed the discovery, noting the heroin’s estimated street value at around Rs. 4 billion.

During the special naval operation, officers found 150 packets of heroin concealed in six sacks aboard the vessel. 

Four suspects were taken into custody along with the boat, which was escorted to the Dikkowita Fisheries Harbour, early Friday morning. (Newswire)

The post Rs. 4 Bn worth of Heroin found in fishing boat intercepted by Navy appeared first on Newswire.

The Sri Lanka Navy has intercepted a multi‑day local fishing vessel transporting a large consignment of narcotics during a special operation south of the island.

According to the Navy, the long‑range patrol craft carried out the operation in deep-sea waters, leading to the seizure of the vessel along with four suspects on board. 

The vessel was found carrying sacks suspected to contain narcotics.

The Navy confirmed that the vessel, the consignment, and the suspects are being escorted ashore for further investigations and legal proceedings. (Newswire)

The post Sri Lanka Navy seizes fishing vessel carrying suspected narcotics appeared first on Newswire.

Sri Lanka Navy says a consignment of heroin has been found in the multi-day fishing trawler that was seized off the southwest coast yesterday. 

Navy Media Spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath stated the vessel was brought to the Dikkowita Fisheries Harbour today for an inspection. 

He further said that 298 parcels containing nearly 300 kilos of heroin valued at over 6.2 billion were found in the vessel.

Commander Buddhika Sampath said that six suspects have been arrested along with the narcotics and the fishing vessel. 

He added that following the inspection, the suspects and seized narcotics will be handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau for further investigations. (Newswire) 

The post Nearly 300 Kg of heroin found in vessel seized off Southwest Coast appeared first on Newswire.

Sri Lanka Police have revealed that 654 kg of narcotics valued at over Rs. 10 billion were discovered on a multi‑day fishing vessel seized by the Navy in southern waters. 

Initial investigations found 48 packages containing more than 600 kilograms of ice and heroin. A detailed inspection confirmed the total weight at 654 kilograms, comprising 478 kilograms of ice and 176 kilograms of heroin.

In addition to the narcotics, the Navy also recovered eight pistols with magazines, two T56 assault rifles, and one M16 firearm, the largest cache of weapons ever taken into custody at sea by the Sri Lanka Navy.

The vessel was brought ashore at the Dikowita fisheries harbour on Thursday (12), where the massive drug haul was uncovered.

The vessel had been intercepted in the southern seas earlier this week, and ten suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident. 

Authorities say the seizure marks one of the largest combined drug and weapons hauls in recent years, underscoring the scale of organized trafficking operations targeting Sri Lanka’s maritime routes. (Newswire)

The post 654 kg of narcotics worth over Rs. 10 Bn recovered from fishing vessel seized in the South appeared first on Newswire.

The Sri Lankan Navy has intercepted a multi‑day fishing vessel in the deep seas south of Sri Lanka during a special operation, discovering a stock of narcotics suspected to be heroin along with a cache of weapons.

Navy officials confirmed that the vessel was taken into custody and is being escorted ashore for further investigations and legal proceedings.

The Navy said that it continues to conduct regular operations across the island’s maritime zones to safeguard national security.

Authorities added that more details regarding the seizure will be released in due course. (Newswire)

The post Navy intercepts fishing vessel with suspected heroin, weapons appeared first on Newswire.

Five fishing vessels belonging to the drug trafficker known as “Dehi Bale” have been taken into custody by the Illegal Assets Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). 

The CID stated that the five vessels were seized while anchored at the Dickwella fisheries harbour.

It is further reported that their value is approximately Rs. 200 million. (Newswire)

The post 05 fishing vessels belonging to drug trafficker seized appeared first on Newswire.

Six individuals have been taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Navy along with a multi-day fishing vessel suspected of transporting a stock of narcotics. 

The vessel was intercepted during a special naval operation conducted in the deep seas west of Sri Lanka. 

Reports state that the vessel is currently being brought ashore for further investigation. (Newswire)

The post Navy nabs 06 individuals on vessel suspected of transporting narcotics appeared first on Newswire.

A multi-day fishing vessel suspected of transporting a consignment of narcotics has been taken into custody by the Sri Lankan Navy in the southern waters.

The Navy stated that the vessel was taken into custody along with five individuals aboard in the southern seas off Galle last night (16).

The seized boat is being brought to the Galle Harbour, the Navy added. (Newswire)

The post Navy nabs fishing vessel suspected of transporting drugs appeared first on Newswire.

The Sri Lanka Navy has seized two multi-day fishing trawlers, with stocks of heroin and ICE narcotics, consisting of a combined weight of over 450 kilograms.

According to the Navy, the fishing trawlers were seized yesterday (27 May) in the deep sea off the southern coast.

Eleven fishermen were also arrested in the operation conducted jointly by the Sri Lanka Navy and the Police Narcotics Bureau.

The arrested fishermen are residents of the Devundara area. Their two vessels, taken into custody by the Navy, have been brought to the Dikowita Harbour. (Newswire)

The post Two fishing boats seized with over 400 kilos of drugs appeared first on Newswire.

The largest-ever fishing vessel to be manufactured in Sri Lanka was launched at the Dikkowita Fisheries Harbour on Monday (03 Mar).

Designed with modern technology and in compliance with international standards, the 80-foot vessel was built by Danusha Marine for export to Somalia.

Danusha Marine has an established reputation for manufacturing and exporting fishing vessels to countries such as South Korea, Kenya, Sweden, and Norway.

This vessel, which marks a significant achievement for Sri Lanka’s shipbuilding industry, was launched under the patronage of Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Marine Resources Ramalingam Chandrasekar and Minister of Industries and Enterprise Development Sunil Handunnetti.

Commenting on the achievement, Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar emphasized the need for Sri Lanka to expand its shipbuilding capabilities beyond fishing vessels to larger ships.

Meanwhile, Minister Sunil Handunnetti pointed out Sri Lanka’s potential as a shipbuilding hub, given its skilled workforce and strategic geographical location. (Newswire)

The post Sri Lankan made largest-ever fishing vessel launched at Dikkowita Harbour appeared first on Newswire.

The Department of Meteorology has issued an advisory for heavy rain, strong winds and rough seas for multi-day boats in the deep sea areas of the Southeast Bay of Bengal, effective until 02.00 pm tomorrow. 

According to the department, the low-pressure area still persists over the southeast Bay of Bengal.

It is likely to move west-northwestwards, and thereafter, reach over the southwest Bay of Bengal off Sri-Lanka–Tamil Nadu coasts around 11th December.

Under its influence, temporarily very strong winds around 60 kmph accompanied by heavy rainfalls and very rough seas are likely in the above-sea areas today. 

The fishing and Naval communities are requested to be vigilant in this regard. (Newswire)

The post Low-pressure area : Advisory issued for multi-day boats appeared first on Newswire.

Two Sri Lankan-flagged fishing vessels were intercepted by Indian authorities in the Arabian Sea while smuggling narcotics, resulting in the seizure of approximately 500kg of crystal meth.

Based on information received from the Sri Lankan Navy regarding probable narcotics smuggling by Sri Lankan flagged fishing vessels, the Indian Navy responded swiftly through a coordinated operation to localise and intercept the boats, the Indian Navy said. 

Extensive surveillance was undertaken by Indian Naval Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft and Remotely Piloted Aircraft, based on inputs from the Information Fusion Centre (Indian Ocean Region), Gurugram, and an Indian Naval ship was deployed to augment efforts. 

Two boats were identified based on continuous inputs from the Sri Lankan Navy and aerial surveillance by IN aircraft. Subsequently, in a closely coordinated operation between the ship and the aerial assets, both boats were boarded by ship’s boarding team on 24 and 25 Nov 24, leading to the seizure of approximately 500 kg of narcotics (Crystal Meth). One additional IN ship was also tasked to augment the force level for conduct of anti-narcotics operations. 

 The two boats, along with crew and seized narcotics, are being handed over to Sri Lankan authorities for further legal action. (Newswire)

The post Drug bust : Indian Navy intercepts two Sri Lankan fishing vessels appeared first on Newswire.

A search operation is underway to find three fishermen who were reported missing after their fishing trawler capsized following a collision with a ship 270 nautical miles off Sri Lanka.  

According to the Police, a fishing trawler carrying seven fishermen had capsized last morning.

Following the incident, four fishermen were rescued by another fishing trawler and three fishermen were reported missing.

The missing fishermen are aged 28, 43, and 52 years and are residents of the Ahungalla and Kosgoda areas. 

The rescued fishermen are being brought ashore. The Galle Harbour Police and Navy are conducting a search operation and investigations into the incident. (Newswire)

The post Search operation underway to find 03 missing fishermen appeared first on Newswire.

A local multiday fishing trawler carrying a large consignment of narcotics has been seized off the Southern Coast.

The Sri Lanka Navy stated that the trawler with 06 suspects was seized during a coordinated operation conducted with the State Intelligence Service.

The apprehension was made by SLNS Vijayabahu in the high seas South of Sri Lanka.

The Navy added that the trawler and suspects are expected to be brought to the Colombo Port today (May 18) for legal action. (NewsWire)

The post Narcotics trawler nabbed in Intelligence-led mission appeared first on Newswire.

China has sought the assistance of Sri Lanka alongside several other countries to conduct coordinated search and rescue operations to assist a Chinese fishing vessel that had capsized in the central Indian Ocean.

The Chinese State Media reported on Wednesday that the distant-water fishing vessel “Lupeng Yuanyu 028” was owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co Ltd based in Shandong province.

According to foreign media reports, Chinese broadcaster CCTV said that the vessel had capsized at about 3 a.m. Beijing time on Tuesday.

State broadcaster CCTV further reported that the crew of 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesian and five Filipino sailors is missing.

“So far, no missing persons have been found,” state broadcaster CCTV said, adding that President Xi Jinping had ordered a search and rescue operation.

Meanwhile, search and rescue teams from Australia and several other countries have arrived on the scene and China has deployed two vessels to assist in the operation, the broadcaster reported.

China’s maritime search and rescue centre had informed relevant countries of the incident.

The Foreign Ministry had also told its missions in Australia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries to coordinate search and rescue operations, it added. (NewsWire)

The post China seeks Sri Lanka’s assistance over capsized boat appeared first on Newswire.