Two held with sea cucumber worth Rs 15 lakh

Two persons were today arrested with 150 kg of sea cucumber, an endangered coral reef species, at Vethalai near here, police said.
They were planning to smuggle the sea cucumber, a delicacy in many south east Asian nations, to Singapore via Sri Lanka, police said.
The seized sea cucumber are worth Rs 15 lakh in international market, they said.
Sea cucumbers, which play an important role in maintaining the marine ecological system, have been classified as endangered species and their harvest banned under the Wildlife Protection Act.