Sri Lanka Police opened fire on a lorry transporting cattle illegally in the Kattakaduwa area of Hungama after the driver refused to comply with orders to stop, NewsFirst reported on Wednesday.
According to police, the lorry continued to flee despite instructions to halt, prompting officers to discharge their weapons. One suspect sustained injuries during the incident and was admitted to Tangalle Hospital for treatment.
A second individual in the lorry was arrested at the scene. Police did not disclose the number of animals on board, the origin point of the cattle or the intended destination.
The Hungama police division on the southern coast has long been on a smuggling-route corridor for cattle movements out of the dry-zone districts, with parallel enforcement actions by the Department of Wildlife on protected species. Discharge of firearms during routine stop-and-search operations remains rare but is permitted under standing police rules when officers face a perceived threat or fleeing suspects with vehicles.
A magisterial inquiry into the shooting and the cause of the injuries would be expected to follow under standard procedure, alongside cattle-cruelty and unlicensed-transport charges against the surviving suspect.
