Ramanathapuram
Close on the heels of seizing about 200 kg of live sea cucumbers, the endangered species, protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, the mMarine police of the Coastal Security Group (CSG) have seized 350 kg of processed sea cucumbers after intercepting a van and arresting two persons.
Acting on a tip-off, a marine police team led by Kanagaraj, Inspector of Police, and Rajkumar, Sub-Inspector of Police, made the seizure after chasing and intercepting an Omni van at Mandapam check post near Rameswaram on Tuesday.
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The arrested were identified as Sathyamurthy, 36, from MRT Nagar in Rameswaram, and Linganathan, 29, from Verkodu. The accused told the police that they were assigned the job of transporting the consignment to the Vedhalai seashore and could not give details of the smugglers network.
When the marine police team followed the van in Rameswaram, the accused, sensing trouble, tried to escape. After chasing the vehicle for a distance, the team alerted Ganesamurthy, Marine Sub Inspector of Police at Mandapam, who blocked the van at the check post, police said.
The processed species, packed in seven plastic bags, were being taken to the shore in Vedhalai for smuggling to Sri Lanka via the sea route, police said. The smugglers would transport the species to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and China, via Sri Lanka, where there was no ban, police said.
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The species commanded a good price in these countries as people consumed them for the medicinal values, police added. On September 22, the Marine police had seized 200 kg of live sea cucumbers after intercepting two mechanised boats in the sea and arresting 11 fishermen.
Justifying the ban on sea cucumbers, forest department officials said the species lived in seabed, played useful role in the marine ecosystem and helped to recycle nutrients. They acted as friends of fishermen like earthworms acted as friends of farmers, they said and warned fishermen against catching them. Fishermen should release the species back into the sea even if they caught them inadvertently while fishing, they said.