Udupi: Court imposes fine on three T.N. men for illegally entering Indian waters

Udupi: Court imposes fine on three T.N. men for illegally entering Indian waters

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, June 28, 2025: A Udupi court has imposed a total fine of ₹80,000 on three persons from Tamil Nadu after finding them guilty of illegally entering Indian waters on a Oman-flagged fishing vessel.

The Principal Senior Civil Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate, Udupi, on June 24 convicted James Franklin Moses, 50, Robinston, 50, and Derose Alphonso, 38, of offences punishable under rule 6A of the Passport Entry Into India Rules, 1950. Alphonso was also convicted of the offence under Section 14 of Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessels) Act 1981.

Moses and Robinston were directed to pay a fine of ₹10,000 each, while Alphonso was directed to pay a fine of ₹60,000. The court set conditions for granting interim custody of three mobile phones to the three convicted men.

Following an alert by local fishermen, the Indian Coast Guard and Coastal Security Police on February 23, 2025, found a Oman-flagged fishing vessel near St. Mary’s Island off the Udupi coast.

Moses, Robinston, and Alphonso, all hailing from Tamil Nadu, were found in the vessel. Unable to bear with harassment of their employer in Oman, the three persons undertook a long risky sea journey on February 17 from Oman to India without any travel documents. The Coastal Security Police Malpe police sub-inspector Shivashankar filed the chargesheet. As many as 33 witnesses were examined.

The court on June 24 also ordered release of the fishing vessel to Abdullah Mohammed Hameed Al-Junaibi and Madida Mohammed Hameed Al–Junaibi,  the partners in Abnalswyhy Trading Company in whose name the  vessel is registered.