The Marine Police of the Coastal Security Group (CSG) and the district unit of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) have seized 10 kg of sea horses, protected under schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and detained a person, who was in possession of the endangered species.
Acting on a tip off, a marine police team, led by P.S. Ramesh Kumar, Inspector of Police, CSG, and T.P. Pradeep, Inspector, WCCB, detained V. Ilangovan (38), who was found carrying the dried sea horses in two cloth bags near the Uppur bus stand on Sunday evening.
The accused who hailed from Manakudi in Thiruvadanai taluk confessed to the police that he was acting as a courier for Arjunan, a smuggler in Thondi.
A person handed over the bags to him at Ramanathapuram bus stand and he was waiting for a contact to pick him up to Thondi, when the police team caught him, he told the police.
On being handed over, the Forest department officials arrested the accused under sections 9, 39, 50 and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act. He was produced before the Magistrate Court in Thiruvadanai on Monday which remanded him in judicial custody, said S. Ganeshalingam, Forest Range Officer.
The officials destroyed the dry sea horses after obtaining court permission, he said.
The Q branch police launched a hunt for Arjunan after seizing 26 kg of sea horses at the Thondi bus stand in May from an orchestra singer, who had acted as courier for Arjunan. The singer was to take the contraband to Bengaluru, when the police detained him.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pradeep said the marine police and WCCB conducted surveillance and raided a few places in the coastal Thirupalaikudi and Devipattinam for three days since July 1 to serve deterrence to the poachers and smugglers.
On Monday too, they raided a house in a ‘sensitive area’ following information that sea cucumbers were being processed.
The surveillance and raids would continue throughout the Gulf of Mannar region, he said.
