Nine fishermen from Mayiladuthurai district were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on Saturday morning, January 3, 2026. They were fishing near Kodiyakkarai off the Nagapattinam coast. Official sources said the men had been fishing near Kodiyakkarai for two months. They ventured into the sea on Friday afternoon. On Saturday morning, the Sri Lankan Navy stopped them for crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). Two mechanised fishing boats were seized. The nine fishermen were split across two boats. One boat had Vadamalai Anburaj, 30, the driver; Kaliyaperumal Kumar, 35; Ponnukutty Regan, 19; Manokaran Kowshik, 26; and Kaliyaperumal Ponnukutty, 45. The other boat carried Kasi Thangarasu, 45; Thangarasu Mathan, 21; Kasiraja Selvaraj, 48; and Kannayi Ramalingam, 50. All are from Mayiladuthurai district. The fishermen and the boats were taken to the Kankesanthurai naval base for further inquiry, sources added. Notably, on Friday, the Sri Lankan Navy had also arrested 11 fishermen from Karaikal for a similar charge of crossing the IMBL near the southeast of Kodiyakkarai.