Deer hunters nabbed

by Upali Thilakaratne

The Mihintale Police, following a raid carried out on a tip off to Anuradhapura ASP J. A. U. P. Jayasinghe arrested two persons who had butchered two heads of deer with the haul of venison and game hunting implements including two trap gun barrels in the forest reserves of Pudukkulama, Ihalagama, Mihintale, last Saturday (30).

Investigations revealed that the two suspects, members of a group of illicit game hunters and tree fellers headed by a businessman posing as an officer attached to the homeguard committee were operating in the area for a long time supplying game flesh and illicit brews to hotels in the Anuradhapura town area. The police are engaged in a man hunt to round up the main suspect.

The raid was conducted by Mihintale Police OIC Sunil Kekulandara accompanied by S. I. Mishan de Silva and PCs Gunasekera,Lal, Weerasinghe, Wijesiri, Malalasekera, and Chaminda. The two suspects and the recovered items were due to be produced before the Anuradhapura Magistrate, today.

Meanwhile, the Kahatagasdigiliya Police raided a cannabis distributing centre located in the forest area of Samadhigama, Kukulewa, and recovered 12 1/2 kilograms of cannabis packeted in 500 grams parcels for distribution in the Anuradhapura area. The police arrested a suspect who will be produced in Court in this connection, Kahatagasdigiliya Police OIC IP Jagath de Alwis said.