The Sri Lanka Navy apprehended four individuals along with a haul of 437 sea cucumbers during a search operation conducted in the waters off South Bar, Mannar Island, on the morning (local time) of Wednesday, March 4.
The navy said the search operation also led to the seizure of a dinghy used for the illegal act.
The operation was carried out by personnel from North Central Naval Command. During the search operation, naval personnel intercepted the suspicious dinghy and discovered that the occupants were engaging in illegal night diving to harvest sea cucumbers.
The suspects held in this operation were identified as residents of Mannar, from 32 to 48 years of age. Those suspects, along with the sea cucumbers, diving gear and the dinghy, were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Mannar for legal action.
The apprehension is the second to be conducted in response to illegal harvesting of sea cucumbers off Mannar in under a month.
On February 5, the navy took seven suspects into custody for illegally harvesting 355 sea cucumbers. These individuals' dinghies and diving equipment were also seized.