The Border Security Force has apprehended 15 Pakistani fishermen and also seized an engine-fitted country boat near the Indo-Pak border in the Kutch district of Gujarat, the BSF said on Sunday. The fishermen had illegally crossed the international maritime border and entered Indian waters.
The BSF launched a search operation on Saturday after receiving specific inputs about an unidentified boat spotted near the border outpost in Kori Creek, located in Gujarat's Kutch region. During the independent operation, carried out around 9 am, BSF personnel apprehended a group of fishermen in the sensitive creek area.
"An extensive search was carried out in the adjoining boats and during the search, 15 Pakistani fishermen were apprehended along with one engine-fitted country boat," the BSF said in a release.
The officials said that all fishermen, Pakistani nationals hailing from Sujawal district in Sindhi province of the neighbouring country, were found in the general area of the border outpost of the BSF's 68th battalion. They have been handed over to local police for further investigation.
The boat carried around 60 kg of fish, nine fishing nets, diesel, ice, food items, and wooden sticks. A mobile phone and Rs 200 in Pakistani currency were also seized from their possession, the BSF said.
(With agencies input)
