Wildlife officials seized 41 live sharks and arrested 12 people from the Namkhana area of West Bengal's South 24-Parganas district in a midnight undercover operation.

A team of officials, led by the Additional Divisional Forest Officer, M A Rahaman, intercepted the trawler, F-B Bomba, carrying the sharks from the Bay of Bengal near the Namkhana ferry ghat last night.

The owner of the trawler, Timir Chaudhury, a resident of Kakdwip in the same district was arrested along with 11 of his accomplices.

Rahaman told PTI that the sharks, weighing between 6 kg and 120 kg, were being ferried to different markets in Kolkata for supply to five-star hotels.

The 12 persons were arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and would be produced at the Alipore chief judicial magistrate's court on Thursday.

Shark is categorised as an endangered species and enlisted in the schedule one of the Wildlife Protection Act
and the punishment for the illegal trading amounts to a minimum 10 years in jail and Rs 20,000 in fine, he said.