CHENNAI: 22 Tamil Nadu fishermen who were arrested by the Srilankan Coast Guards were returned to Chennai on Friday night.

The 22 fishermen from Ramanathapuram, Nagapatinam, Pudukottai and Cuddalore went fishing to the sea two months ago.

On May 22, when they were in the middle of the sea, the Srilankan Coast guards surrounded the fishermen for crossing the border and seized their boats all of them were arrested and they were sent to prison.

Following that, the families of the fishermen requested the Tamilnadu Chief Minister Stalin to take steps to release them and then the Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister and the Foreign Affairs Ministry to take immediate action.

On June 26, the fishermen were released from prison with the help of the Indian embassy in Srilanka. The officials arranged the necessary travel documents and tickets for all the fishermen and they arrived at the Chennai airport on the Air India flight on Friday night.

The officials from the Fisheries department welcomed the fishermen at the Chennai airport and arranged transport for their natives.