A French couple was arrested for stealing 88 pounds of protected white sand from an Italian beach while on vacation, according to a report.

The duo, a man and woman in their 40s, took the sand from the island of Sardinia, where it’s illegal to remove the natural resource, according to CNN.

Italian police in Porto Torres spotted the haul stuffed inside 14 plastic bottles while conducting routine checks on cars waiting to board ferries to France, the report said.

The couple were charged with aggravated theft and face up to a $3,300 fine and six years behind bars.

The thieves claimed they were unaware it was a crime to remove the white sand, despite a number of signs in multiple languages warning against doing so.