Tamil Nadu: Mandapam forest dept, marine police arrest 11 fishermen for smuggling live sea cucumbers

Ramanathapuram: Mandapam Forest Department and marine police arrested as many as 11 fishermen on Sunday (September 22) for smuggling 200kg of live sea cucumbers that are labelled as endangered species and are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act.

A forest department team led by ranger Venkatesh and Mandapam marine sub-inspector of police Raj Kumar, were on regular patrol in the Mandapam north-sea region on a boat when it found two mechanised boats approaching the shoreline with the huge catch of the endangered species.

Finding that the seized sea cucumbers were live, the range officer informed the court and released them into the sea from Pamban Road Bridge in the presence of a judicial magistrate. Enquiries revealed that the fishermen had caught the species for selling them to smugglers, forest ranger Venkatesh said.