A joint operation by the Police Special Task Force (STF) and wildlife officials has recovered ammunition and protected animal trophies during a raid in Attawilluwa, Puttalam, on a property reportedly linked to a former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police.
Officers seized nine live rounds of ammunition, a mounted leopard skin and a spotted deer skin during the search. Wildlife officials said the leopard skin appeared to come from an animal nearly six feet long, of the kind typically found in Wilpattu National Park and adjoining reserves.
The raid was conducted on intelligence supplied by Sri Lanka Air Force units and was led by officers from the Ritigala wildlife range. Wildlife officers from Karuwalagaswewa, Ritigala and Kurunegala took part alongside STF personnel attached to the Puttalam camp.
A man cultivating the property at the time of the raid was arrested. He told investigators that he had taken the land on lease from the former DIG. Authorities said steps have been taken to summon the former officer to record a statement, though no arrest of the senior figure has been announced.
Possession of leopard parts is prohibited under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, and trade in such trophies has been a priority enforcement area for the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is listed as endangered, with the Wilpattu population under sustained pressure from snare poaching and trophy hunting.
The case opens a new accountability strand involving a senior former police figure, separate from the ongoing prosecutions of former senior officers in the Easter attacks investigation and recent CID drug-network probes. Wildlife crime cases involving serving or retired senior officers have rarely advanced to prosecution; how investigators handle the summons of the former DIG will be closely watched.
