Sri Lanka Navy intercepted 104 persons illegally bound for Australia in a multi-day trawler on 16th November 2012. The trawler named “Ekamuthu” was intercepted by a Fast Naval Patrol Craft attached to the Western Naval Command 25 nautical miles off Thuduvai seas.
Among the arrested persons are 96 Tamils, 06 Sinhalese and 02 Muslims that included 90 males (81 men and 09 boys) and 14 women (10 women and 04 girls). They are residents of Jaffna, Vavuniya, Batticaloa, Puttlam, Colombo, Mannar, Ja-Ela, Negombo, Wattala, Ragama and Kalpitiya. They were brought to Mutwall Harbour to be handed over to the CID for further investigations.