Police and Sri Lanka Army personnel have seized approximately 155,000 cannabis plants from a three-acre illegal cultivation site hidden inside the Udawalawe Reserve.
The joint operation was launched on April 11 based on Army intelligence. Officers from the Hambegamuwa Police Station and Army officials executed the raid, uncovering rows of cannabis plants, each approximately three feet tall. The seized crop carries an estimated street value of Rs. 4.5 million.
The scale of the operation — 155,000 plants spread across three acres of protected wildlife habitat — makes it one of the larger cannabis seizures reported this year. Illegal cultivation inside national reserves is a persistent enforcement challenge, as the dense cover and remote access make detection difficult.
Udawalawe National Park and its surrounding reserve areas are primarily known as a major elephant habitat and tourist destination. The encroachment of illicit agriculture into protected zones raises both law enforcement and environmental concerns.
The seizure adds to a string of recent drug-related enforcement actions, including the arrest of a Ugandan national at BIA with cocaine, the interception of cannabis hidden in chocolates worth Rs. 113 million at the airport, and a separate cocaine concealment arrest earlier this month.
