Chennai, May 22 (IANS) The Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, Shiv Das Meena, has written to the Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, reiterating the state government’s request for the release of four Tamil Nadu fishermen who were arrested by the Coast Guard in Kuwait in December last year.

A statement issued by the state government said that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had on February 9 written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the arrest of four fishermen from Ramanathapuram by the Kuwait Coast Guard on December 5, 2023.

Stalin had requested the Centre to secure their release through diplomatic channels.

The statement also said that the Chief Secretary has sent a communication to the Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs as a reminder of the request.

The four fishermen - M. Karthik (22), J.Sesu (43), M. Chandru (23), and S. Vinodkumar(27) - were working as labourers in Kuwait since 2023.

They were recruited by a Kuwaiti boat owner on a contract basis.

The four fishermen had gone into the sea for fishing in a vessel in which a narcotic substance was found, following which they were arrested and sent to judicial custody.