53 fishermen arrested for harvesting 7,000 sea cucumbers in Manner

By Romesh Madusanka   

A stock of more than 7,000 sea cucumbers was seized and 53 fishermen who harvested them were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy during raided carried out in the sea off Mannar last week. The Navy had seized eleven trawlers and fishing equipment. The suspects arrested were from Mannar , Silavathurai and Allapiddi areas and between the age group of 17 and 61 years.   
A senior official of the Navy said the contraband trade of fishing and smuggling sea cucumbers was going on, on a large scale in the sea off Mannar. Suspects and case productions were handed over to the Silavathurai Police for further action.