Four people were arrested in the Aluthwewa area of the Galewela Police Division on Monday after a joint operation seized protected wildlife items they were allegedly preparing to sell illegally, the Department of Wildlife Conservation said.
Officers from the Ritigala Wildlife Office, the Kurunegala Assistant Director’s Office, the Special Task Force and intelligence officers carried out the raid following information passed to the Ritigala Wildlife Office by Air Force intelligence, Newswire reported.
The suspects were found in possession of 20 highly protected Smooth Spider Conchs, 22 unidentified sea conchs, two deer antlers and several pieces of deer antler. All the items had reportedly been kept for illegal sale.
The Smooth Spider Conch (Lambis laevigata) is among Sri Lanka’s strictly protected marine species under wildlife and fisheries regulations, and trade in deer antlers is prohibited under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, which protects spotted deer and sambhur from capture or killing.
Wildlife enforcement actions across the central and north-central districts have been frequent this season, with separate operations including the death of an elephant in Wildlife Department custody earlier this month and a recent Wildlife Department-CAA memorandum covering air-cargo monitoring at Mattala airport. The arrested suspects and the seized items are to be produced in court.
