Seas near Andaman islands saw high drama on Thursday (September 23) as the Indian Coast Guard rounded up Myanmarese poachers, who had sneaked in from the Coco Islands in Myanmar.

24 poachers from Myanmar’s Coco islands have been arrested over the last two days in anti-poaching ops. These Myanmarese nationals had abundance of fuel with them apart from diving equipment (for poaching on sea cucumber, molluscs and corals – heavily in demand internationally)

This latest catch takes the total toll to 88 poachers in 7 boats over the last 20 days. This increase can be attributed to improving weather conditions and sea calming down after a rough monsoon.

The incident is the latest in a spate of apprehensions by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard in collaboration with the Marine Police, Forest, Fisheries and other government and security agencies as a part of heightened coastal security initiatives towards enhanced Coastal Defence of these strategically-important Islands.