311 people held, illegal fishing nets seized in countrywide drives

A total of 311 people have been arrested during countrywide drives conducted by the River Police over the past seven days, aimed at protecting the country's fish resources and ensuring safety on waterways.

According to the River Police headquarters, 29,806,610 metres of illegal fishing nets, 5,237 kilograms of fish, and 17,000 shrimp fry were seized.

Legal actions were also taken against 71 bulkheads for not having valid documents, and three dredgers were also seized.

A total of 88 cases were filed during the operations, including 68 related to fisheries, one drug case, seven, seven unnatural death cases, one murder case, two cases related to sand extraction, one under the Special Powers Act, and one involving women and children.

Eight bodies were recovered during the period.

The seized illegal fishing nets were destroyed, the recovered fish were distributed to orphanages, and the shrimp fry were released back into the water, said the River Police.