COLOMBO (BNO NEWS) — The Sri Lankan Navy on Sunday arrested 44 people who were on board a boat off the country’s eastern coast and were heading to Australia, officials said.

The suspected migrants were on board a fishing trawler which had set sail from Negombo, a coastal town on Sri Lanka’s western shoreline. They were detected off Kalmunai, 320 kilometers (199 miles) east of the capital, the navy said in a statement.

Among the 44 people on board the boat was one woman and two children. According to the Navy, the group of migrants will be handed over to police for further investigations.



Over the recent years, Sri Lanka Navy troops have foiled several illegal human smuggling attempts targeting Australia as their destination. “Sri Lankans are reminded not to fall into traps laid by human traffickers and take risks at seeking illegal entry into Australia in the back drop of the recent Malaysia-Australia agreement,” the statement said.

Under the agreement called the Malaysia Solution, which was signed in July, Australia would send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia over the next four years. In exchange, Australia would take 4,000 refugees who have already been processed in Malaysia.

Last month, however, the Australian High Court extended an injunction banning the transfer of asylum seekers to Malaysia. Australia currently has more than 6,000 asylum seekers in detention originating from countries including Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

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