A group of fishermen from Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram has found Ambergris or vomit of whale worth Rs 28 crore and handed it over to the authorities.

Ambergris is used to make perfumes and it costs around Rs 1 crore per kg in the international market.

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The fishermen found the ambergris weighing 28.4 kg in the sea and brought it to shore on Friday evening. Then they handed it over to the coastal police.

"They handed us over the ambergris. We informed the Forest department and they received it from us," Coastal police told PTI on Saturday.

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The Forest department has taken the ambergris to Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in the city to confirm it.

The sale of ambergris is prohibited by law in India, as the sperm whale is an endangered species that is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act.

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(With PTI inputs)

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