CHENNAI: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has siezed 450 kg of sea cucumbers from a fishing boat at Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district.

The interception team operating north of Mandapam harbour detected a fishing boat with gunny bags approaching the shore. Upon suspicion, the ICG team started closing in on the boat. On reaching the shore, the occupants of the boat tried to remove the sea cucumbers but abandoned them when they saw the Coast Guard officials hot on their chase.

Even as the smugglers managed to escape in the dense foliage, the ICG team confiscated their boat and 450 kg of sea cucumbers, worth about Rs 1.8 crore.

This is the fifth sea cucumber smuggling bid thwarted by the Indian Coast Guard in the Palk Strait area, this year.

Sea cucumbers are a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

Gold, Tendu leaves and narcotics are also smuggled in the region from across the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).