Russians nabbed with frogs, snails

Mahinda P Liyanage Galle Daily News corr.

Three Russians found guilty of unlawful possession of frogs and snails caught from the Hiyare Forest Reserve in Galle were fined Rs 100,000 each by Galle Additional Magistrate Gunenedra Kumara Munaweera.

The suspects were produced before him by officials of the Wildlife Department’s Hikkaduwa office yesterday.

Wildlife officials on a tip - off from Hiyare Bio-diversity Conservation Society members had arrested foreigners with the illegal haul.

The Russians tourists, dentified as Mino Dmithri, Astanelos Anaalohith and Alexender Skabin entered the forest reserve on the pretext of viewing exotic flora and fauna of the area.

Society members who became suspicious of the tourists by their unusual behaviour tipped -off the wildlife officials who arrested them on February 15 and produced the suspects before the Galle Additional Magistrate who remanded them till yesterday giving the officials the time to frame charges against them.

The suspects had nine snails, a frog and an exotic plant called Kaasi Pethiya at the time of arrest.

A team of wildlife officials led by Wildlife Department’s Hikkaduwa office OIC Asanka Gunawardane prosecuted.