A group of people found an ambergris weighing 18 kilograms floating offshore of Shaviyani atoll Funadhoo island on Wednesday.
A member of Funadhoo Island Council said that the ambergris was found by some male staff of the council who had gone to throw out some garbage in the southern side of the island.
According to the councilor, it has not been yet confirmed whether the object found floating close to the beach is truly an ambergris. In the meantime, it is being kept in the house of one of the staff.
There have been several cases where such items found by locals were later confirmed as not ambergris.