Aug 17, Trincomalee: Sri Lanka Navy Thursday arrested another 57 illegal migrants bound for Australia and handed them over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for further investigations.

A fast Naval Patrol Craft attached to the Eastern Naval Command has intercepted a multi-day fishing trawler with the 57 people onboard in the sea about 40 nautical miles off Pigeon Island in Trincomalee in the Eastern Province.

Among the arrested migrants were 39 men, 8 women, 6 boys and 4 girls, the Navy said. The 52 Tamils and 5 Sinhalese were residents of Trincomalee, Jaffna, Batticaloa and Mannar.

The Navy has escorted the would-be asylum seekers to the Trincomalee Harbor to be handed over to the CID for further investigations.

The Sri Lankan Navy arrested 43 migrants on Tuesday (14) in the sea about 20 nautical miles west of Negombo in the western coast.

The Navy last month alone has arrested 633 illegal migrants fleeing to Australia.

Although the Navy has increased vigilance around the country's coasts to prevent human smuggling, the exercise has not been effective in preventing the increasing attempts by would-be asylum seekers.