RAJKOT: Eight foreign fishermen arrested by Navy in Arabian Sea have been released after security agencies gave them a clean chit.
Five of the fishermen were Yemen nationals, two from Tanzania and one from Kenya.
They were arrested six months ago from an Iranian ship, 'Nafish-1'. The ship, carrying rice and heading home, had entered into Indian waters after its engine broke down, police said.
AK-47 rifles, pistols and foreign currency had been recovered from the fishermen.
The security agencies initially believed that they were pirates but the probe cleared them of the charges.
"After thorough investigation by the agencies, including Navy, Coast Guard and Marine police, the nine were found to be fishermen and were released by the Indian government yesterday," Porbandar SP Dipen Bhadran said.
Meanwhile, a Somali national, who was arrested along with several others in another operation, was also released, but the released men of the Iranian ship refused to take him along, saying that they feared trouble from agencies of other countries if he were to be on board.
Five of the fishermen were Yemen nationals, two from Tanzania and one from Kenya.
They were arrested six months ago from an Iranian ship, 'Nafish-1'. The ship, carrying rice and heading home, had entered into Indian waters after its engine broke down, police said.
AK-47 rifles, pistols and foreign currency had been recovered from the fishermen.
The security agencies initially believed that they were pirates but the probe cleared them of the charges.
"After thorough investigation by the agencies, including Navy, Coast Guard and Marine police, the nine were found to be fishermen and were released by the Indian government yesterday," Porbandar SP Dipen Bhadran said.
Meanwhile, a Somali national, who was arrested along with several others in another operation, was also released, but the released men of the Iranian ship refused to take him along, saying that they feared trouble from agencies of other countries if he were to be on board.
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