2 stranded SL men held with ganja off Maravakadu coast

TIRUCHY: Thanjavur fishermen rescued two Sri Lankans stranded in the mid-sea along with 200 kg of ganja and handed them over to the marine police on Thursday.

When the fishermen Subramanian and Ramachandran from Keezhathottam near Athirampattinam in Thanjavur district were fishing off the coast of Maravakadu at around 5.30 am, they found two persons struggling for life in the mid-sea by holding the diesel cans. Soon, the fishers rushed to them and rescued the duo.

However, the fishermen found that seven bags were also floating alongside. Soon, the fishermen passed on the information to the Athirampattinam marine police, and upon instruction, the stranded Sri Lankans were brought ashore at Keezhathottam. They were handed over to the marine police, who found that the bag contained 200 kg of ganja.

Upon interrogation, the marine police identified the duo as A Ajandhan (36) and V Jeevanandam (51) from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. The further inquiry found that the duo was transporting ganja from Tamil Nadu by a country boat.

As the boat collapsed, they were struggling for life with the support of the diesel cans, and they had tied the ganja bundles with them and tried to swim to the Sri Lankan coast. Subsequently, the police arrested the duo and seized the ganja bundles. Further investigations are on.