An individual identified as  Samarappullige Niran Roshan, a resident of Maharagama has been remanded until   March 20 for allegedly orchestrating a racket where wild elephants were captured and sold.

Police informed  court that initial investigations revealed that the suspect was involved in a racket where wild elephants were captured and sold. The Criminal Investigations Department informed court that they had found information pertaining to 17 such elephants, and that they are investigating cases involving 39 more elephants.

Investigations carried out by the CID revealed that the suspect had employed four mahouts to carry out the racket and also used two vehicles in the operation.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya informed the CID to carry out further investigations and  produce a detailed report on the matter when the case is taken up for consideration again on March 20.

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