Chennai, May 23 (IANS): The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has detained a Sri Lankan boat with five crew members on board for crossing the Indian Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) near Kanniyakumari.

An ICG boat 'Vajra' detained the Sri Lankan boat, 'Amul Putha' late Monday night for fishing in Indian waters.

The boat will be brought to the Tharuvilakam marine police station on Tuesday and handed over to the marine police.

In recent months, the Sri Lankan Navy has taken into custody several fishermen from Tamil Nadu and confiscated their mechanical boats.

A fisherman from Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu while speaking to IANS said: "The fishermen from Sri Lanka have crossed our marine boundary line and if we had crossed their border, we would have even faced thrashings and confiscation of boats."

Fishermen unions have appealed to the state and Central governments for the early release of the boats as this is their only source of income.