COLOMBO, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan navy apprehended 12 Indian fishermen and seized three trawlers on Saturday night, while they were poaching in the country's territorial waters, the navy said in a statement on Sunday.

The arrests were made in the seas off the Kovilan Point Lighthouse in the northern city of Jaffna, during the navy's special operation to chase away Indian poaching trawlers from Sri Lankan waters, the navy said.

The Indian fishermen and trawlers have been brought to the Kankesanthurai harbor and are to be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for legal action, the navy said.

The navy said that they conduct regular patrols in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practices by foreign trawlers, taking into account the consequences of these practices on the livelihood of local fishermen and the marine resources of the South Asian country.

The Sri Lankan navy arrested 343 people engaged in illegal activities and confiscated thousands of kilograms of contraband in 2023, it said recently.