July 19, Colombo: Sri Lanka Navy prevented another illegal migration attempt Thursday when they intercepted a fishing trawler carrying 67 illegal immigrants bound for Australia in the seas off Wennappuwa, about 30 kilometers north of Colombo in North Western Province.

According to the Navy a Fast Naval Patrol Craft attached to the Western Naval Command has detected the multi-day trawler illegally headed for Australia with 67 people onboard.

The would-be asylum seekers were all male and residents of Ampara, Batticaloa, Colombo, Jaffna, Negombo, Nuwara Eliya and Wennappuwa.

The Navy has brought the intercepted trawler has to Mutwal Fisheries Harbour in Colombo and the handed over the 67 migrants to the Criminal Investigation Division of police for further investigations.

The arrest is the sixth made by the Navy within 10 days in Sri Lankan waters. The Navy says it has averted tragedy and saved the lives of 401 persons that included 381 men, 7 women and 7 children who would have faced the rough seas if they had continued.