CHENNAI: A 33-year-old man was arrested near Ennore for alleged possession of ambergris, also called as whale vomit, on Wednesday. The police recovered 1 kg of the substance, worth over Rs 1 crore, from him.

The arrested man was identified as Silambarasan.

According to the police, when they were monitoring Netaji Street in Ennore, they found Silambarasan standing there and acting suspiciously. The police checked his bag and found that he was carrying 1 kg of ambergris.

The police recovered the substance and arrested the man.

When questioned further, it was found that the man had brought the substance from Nagercoil to sell it in Chennai.

The police said that the rate of the ambergris is around Rs 1 crore per kg in the international market.

Ambergris is a solid waxy substance found in the intestine of sperm whales. Ambergris is used in many countries for making medicines, potions, and as a spice; in the perfume industry, it is used to stabilize the scent of fine perfumes.