Four TN youths arrested for poaching sea turtles

MADURAI: Forest officials attached to the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park arrested four youths and seized 70 kg of turtle meat from them on Wednesday.
The seizure and arrest were made based on specific information on a group of six people engaged in poaching sea turtle.

Range officer of Mandapam wildlife range S Sathish said the accused were transferring the meat to an autorickshaw on reaching the shore at Chinna Paalam. Freshly hunted meat of the amphibian was kept in four plastic vessels.

The accused went for hunting on Tuesday night. They retrieved the meat and disposed the shell and remains in the sea.

The arrested were identified as M Anthony Santhiyaagu, 28, M Rooban, 25, and A Michael, 29, of Akkal Madam fishing hamlet and autorickshaw driver E Vignesh, 20, of Chinna Paalam. Search was launched for their two accomplices, M Yesa, 20, of Akkal Madam and Poosadurai, 32, of Pamban who escaped from the scene.

The arrested men were produced before the Rameswaram court and lodged in the Ramnad district jail. During inquiry, forest department personnel learnt that the accused had colluded with buyers J Nalli, Ramesh, Deena and David – all from Thangchi Madam fishing hamlet.

Sources said the poached meat was to be sold at Rs 200 per kg to buyers, who in turn sold it at up to Rs 400 a kg.

“We are on the lookout for the buyers and efforts are on to crack the entire network. Such incidents of organised poaching of sea turtles surfaced in this region after many months,” he said.

Since the species of the turtles that was poached could not be identified, samples from the same was sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, for DNA analysis to establish the species.



Sea turtles are protected under Schedule I of The Wildlife Protection Act and punishment for hunting them ranges from three years to seven years in addition to a fine of Rs 10,000 each.

Meanwhile, forest department personnel said they collected 12,122 Olive Ridley eggs this season and 5,023 hatchlings had been released into the sea.