NAGAPATTINAM: Police seized around 400 kilos of sea cucumber smuggled near Velankanni on Wednesday and arrested two people in connection with the incident. Valued at around several lakh rupees, the sea cucumber was being smuggled from Akkaraipettai to Rameshwaram, and is the third catch of the marine echinoderms, classified as 'Endangered Species' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in the district in the past 40 days.
According to police, a team from Velankanni led by Inspector V Anantharajan was checking vehicles near Chinnathumbur Bridge near East Coast Road on Wednesday. They stopped a mini truck which was seemingly carrying fish. When they checked the truck's bed, they found 27 boxes.
While taking out the empty boxes, they found ten boxes containing processed sea cucumber. The police interrogated the suspects aboard the mini truck and identified them as T Singaravel (27) and his brother T Kesavan (20) from Pappakovil. "The suspects were smuggling the sea cucumber from illegal storage in Akkaraipettai towards Rameshwaram along East Coast Road.
The attempt is in connection to smuggle them to foreign countries from there. We are investigating and looking out for more suspects in connection," said Inspector V Anantharajan. The police handed the sea cucumber to the forest department officials.
A case has been registered at Forest Range Office in Nagapattinam under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. It is learnt that the Sea Cucumber would be destroyed after seeking permission from a magistrate.
Earlier, the coastal security group busted two illegal storages near Akkaraipettai on February 24 and March 25, seizing 526 kilos and a ton respectively. The latest bust indicated signs of more illegal storage of sea cucumbers near Nagapattinam.