River Police arrested 188 people during week-long nationwide drives aimed at protecting fisheries resources and ensuring security on the country’s waterways.
According to a press release issued on Thursday, the operations also led to the seizure of 1.242 million metres of illegal fishing nets, 264kg of fish, 274,000 shrimp fry, 300kg of crabs and 120kg of jelly-injected shrimp.
During the drives, River Police destroyed 105 illegal fish shelters and brush piles set up in rivers to facilitate unlawful fishing.
The force also prosecuted 28 bulkhead vessels for failing to produce valid documents and seized one dredger.
A total of 143 cases were filed during the week, including 104 under the Fisheries Act, 17 for reckless navigation, three each under the Sand Quarry Act, the Narcotics Control Act and extortion laws, two for robbery, one for theft and four for murder.
The seized illegal fishing nets and jelly-injected shrimp were destroyed, while the recovered shrimp fry were released back into water bodies.
The remaining fish were distributed among orphanages, the River Police said.
