A man was arrested in Kalpitiya town on Thursday while attempting to sell 20 protected sea shells, in a raid wildlife officers mounted on Sri Lanka Air Force intelligence.
The operation was carried out by officers from the Kurunegala Wildlife Assistant Director’s Office and the Kalpitiya Wildlife Range Office, Newswire reported.
The suspect was held in possession and control of two species: 10 Sri Lanka Map Cowries and 10 Tiger Cowries. He and the seized items are to be produced before the Kalpitiya Circuit Magistrate’s Court on 5 October.
The shells
The Tiger Cowrie (Cypraea tigris) is a large, heavily patterned marine snail whose polished shell is among the most heavily collected in the Indian Ocean. Map cowries are similarly prized by collectors for the branching pattern on the shell that gives them their name.
Collection and sale of protected marine species is restricted in Sri Lanka under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance and associated fisheries regulations. The commercial value of such shells to collectors and the ornamental trade is what drives the removal of live animals from reef habitat, which is why possession for sale is treated as an offence rather than the shells being regulated only at export.
A recurring enforcement pattern
The combination in this case — Air Force intelligence passed to Department of Wildlife Conservation range officers, followed by a raid on an attempted sale — matches earlier operations this year. In April, four people were arrested at Aluthwewa, Galewela in a joint Air Force–wildlife operation with 20 highly protected Smooth Spider Conchs, 22 other sea conchs and deer antlers, all reportedly held for illegal sale. The Department has also moved against trade in other protected animal products, including a leopard skin raid in the same Puttalam district.
Kalpitiya sits on the Puttalam lagoon and peninsula, a reef and seagrass area that is also a centre for dolphin and whale watching and kitesurfing tourism.
A note on sourcing
This report rests on a single outlet. Newswire is not on our verified-newsroom list, so the article carries no credibility badge. Checks of the Daily Mirror latest-news listing and the Hiru News English service on Thursday evening found no account of the arrest, and a search returned no coverage from any other newsroom.
The suspect’s age, name and district of residence have not been released, nor has the price he was reportedly seeking, how the shells were obtained, or whether the Air Force intelligence came from routine coastal surveillance.
