A suspect has been arrested for allegedly possessing a large stock of skins and body parts of protected wild animals intended for illegal sale in the Mahiyanganaya area.
The arrest was made during a raid conducted on October 30, following intelligence received by the Girandurukotte Wild Elephant Management Unit.
The suspect is a resident of the Wewatta, Ambalawatta area along the Mahiyanganaya–Padiyathalawa Road.
During the raid, wildlife officers seized four elephant molars, several elephant vertebral bone fragments, a large quantity of porcupine quills, hundreds of elephant tail hairs, several pieces of leopard skin, a crocodile skin, two civet skins, a civet head and flesh, and two deer skins.
The seized items also included more than 1,000 peacock feathers, a leopard skull, and several bottles containing bear oil and pig fat.
The suspect and the seized wildlife parts were produced before the Mahiyanganaya Magistrate’s Court on the same day.
The suspect was subsequently remanded until November 5. (Newswire)