Timber valued at Rs 500,000 seized

Gayan Rajapakse

Two suspected timber racketeers were arrested by officers of the Anuradhapura District Forest Range office with a container load of Palu and Mee timber valued at nearly Rs 500,000 recently.

A spokesman for the Range office said investigations revealed that the suspects had engaged in the racket for a long period, by cutting down valuable trees from the Analondawa Reserve in Horowpothana.

The raid was conducted by a team led by Range officer J U Mahinda on the direction of District Forest officer Lalith Gamage. Investigations are continuing.