A man was arrested on October 30 in possession of a large stock of illegal wild animal skins and body parts prepared for sale, following an intelligence tip off received by the Girandurukotte Elephant Management Unit.
The suspect was identified as a resident of the Ambalawatta area in Wewatta, along the Mahiyanganaya–Padiyathalawa road.
During the raid, wildlife officers seized four elephant tooth fragments, several elephant vertebral bone pieces, a large quantity of porcupine quills, hundreds of elephant tail hairs, several leopard skin pieces, a crocodile skin, two small Indian civet (Urulaewa) skins along with a civet head and meat, two deer skins, over 1,000 peacock feathers, a leopard skull, and several bottles of bear oil and wild boar oil.
Following the arrest, wildlife officers presented the suspect and the confiscated animal remains before the Mahiyanganaya Magistrate’s Court on the same day, where the court ordered the suspect to be remanded in custody until November 5. (Newswire)
