Seven Kanniyakumari fishermen, who had ventured into the sea from their base at Doha, Qatar, have been detained by the customs officials of United Arab Emirates (UAE) for having crossed the territorial waters. The detained fishermen – M. Jerome, 55, Johnson, 48, Maria John, 53, C. Johnson, 47, all from of Kurumpanai, G. Jeniskhan, 24, and Ananth, 30, of Colachel and S. Sahaya Minu Stephen, 24, of Aazhithurai – had ventured in the mechanised boat ‘Al Belad’ on January 18.
As they allegedly crossed the international boundary, they were detained by the UAE customs personnel the next day.
On receiving information about the detention of their breadwinners, families of the detained fishermen have approached the Ministry of External Affairs and the officials attached to the Indian Embassy at Dubai and Qatar to ensure their safe and early release.
