Authorities in Sri Lanka say they have arrested 131 would-be asylum seekers heading to Australia. Naval officials say they have seized the fishing trawler being used for the people-smuggling operation. The navy detected the boat carrying 109 people off the east coast and has escorted it to the port of Trincomalee. 

A police spokesman says they have arrested another 22 people suspected of preparing to leave the island illegally on a different trawler. The number of Sri Lankans detained on charges of illegally trying to leave the country has reached more than 250 over the last week.

Sri Lanka Navy said that they had intercepted a multi-day fishing trawler illegally headed for Australia in the seas 25 nautical miles off Kalkudah on Saturday .

All the persons onboard the intercepted trawler that included 109 males were brought to the Trincomalee Naval Base and handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department for further investigations .

The arrest, the highest of such kind, is the third made by the Navy within five days in Sri Lanka’s Eastern waters.

Another 22 people suspected of preparing to leave the island illegally on a different trawler, from Chilaw were also arrested by the Sri Lankan police in a separate incident Sunday morning.

The arrested persons are from Chilaw, Kalmunai, Kalpitiya, Thalawakelle and Valachchenai.

In Kerala, 101 officer cadets today passed out of the First Training Squadron of the Indian Navy at an impressive parade held at the Naval Base in Kochi.

The Chief of Staff of the Southern Naval Command Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande reviewed the passing out parade.

The 24 week afloat training on board the First Training Squadron provides a first hand experience of the rigors of life on board a war ship. The cadets are trained on general and astro navigation, communications, gunnery, missile warfare and military values.