In a pre-dawn operation, the Marine police of the Coastal Security Group (CSG) have seized a huge haul of 500 kg of sea cucumber, an endangered species protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act after intercepting a mechanised fishing boat and detaining two persons.
The Marine police team, headed by Inspector of Police S. Kanagaraj and comprising Sub Inspectors of Police S. Rajkumar and Karuppusamy, was on regular patrolling on Sunday morning between Pamban and Mandpam, when it spotted a mechanised fishing boat moving in a suspicious manner and intercepted it.
The team inspected the boat and found the endangered species, most of them live, kept in containers and being brought to the shore to be sold to smugglers. The team seized the boat (IND TN 11 MM 158) and detained two persons on board the vessel. They were identified as Abdul Rahman, 35, and Kadher, 45.
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The boat had fishing nets and enquiries revealed that the boat was specifically used for fishing sea cucumber. After handing over the accused and the boat at the Mandapam Forest Range office, the Marine police and the forest personnel, released the live sea cucumber into the sea from Pamban Road Bridge.
The seizure comes after the Rameswaram Customs Preventive Unit (CPU) had seized huge haul of 829 kg sea cucumber after intercepting a boat on August 22 in Pamban area.
Police said the accused had caught the sea cucumber at the behest of smugglers, who smuggled them to Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia through Sri Lanka after processing them. The processed sea cucumber commanded good market in these countries for alleged medicinal values, they said.
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Fishermen were supposed to let sea cucumber back into the sea when they catch them inadvertently while fishing but some greedy fishermen sold them to the smugglers, they said.