Dhow with 19 foreigners seized near Lakshadweep Islands

KOCHI - The Indian Navy has apprehended a dhow, with 19 foreigners on board, in anti-piracy combing operations in the economic zone west of Bitra Island in the Lakshadweep Islands, an official statement said Saturday.

The suspicious dhow was spotted by navy ship, INS Rajput, in the Arabian sea.

A defence press release issued here said the dhow was being escorted to Kavaratti in the Lakshadweep Islands to be handed over to police.

The navy is deploying additional ships and aircraft to carry out anti-piracy sanitization in the area west of the Lakshadweep Islands, the statement said.