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Marine corps seize 3,020 kg sea cucumbers
In one of the biggest seizures in the recent times, the Coastal Security Group (CSG) of Tamil Nadu Marine police on Wednesday seized 3,020 kilograms of semi-processed sea cucumbers, an endangered marine species at Keechankuppam fishing hamlet in Nagapattinam district.
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migrator
migrator
Nagapattinam
Police said acting on a tip-off, the CSG personnel conducted the search in the house of a fisherman and seized the sea cucumbers packed in 56 boxes.
The sea cucumbers were meant for smuggling to Sri Lanka via sea route.
The value of the seized sea cucumbers was estimated at around Rs one crore in the International market. The seized marine species were handed over to the Forest department for legal action.
Investigations revealed that the sea cucumbers were procured from the local fishermen in small quantities over a period of time and processed for smuggling to South Asian countries via Sri Lanka.
Sea cucumbers were in great demand not only as a delicacy, but also used for preparing a variety of traditional medicine in countries like China, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand.
They fetch a lucrative price in the international market.
Poaching of these marine species, listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 was banned in India and several other foreign countries.
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