Chinese Nationals Caught Collecting Rare Creatures in Sinharaja

COLOMBO (News1st): A wildlife operation deep inside the buffer zone of Sri Lanka's world-renowned Sinharaja rainforest has led to the arrest of four Chinese nationals who were allegedly collecting endemic insects and reptiles.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation said the arrests were made following information received by wildlife officers attached to the Panahaduwa Range Office of the Udawalawe National Park.

Acting on the intelligence, officers conducted a raid in the buffer zone adjoining the Sinharaja Forest Reserve and apprehended three Chinese men and one Chinese woman who were allegedly engaged in collecting species native to Sri Lanka.

Wildlife officers also recovered more than 250 specimens belonging to over 40 different animal species found in the possession of the suspects.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation said the suspects, along with the seized exhibits, were produced before the Kalawana Magistrate's Court, after which they were remanded until November 23.

The Kalawana Magistrate has further ordered that the live and preserved specimens recovered from the suspects be referred to the National Museum for identification before being released back into the natural environment where possible.

Investigators have also revealed that the suspects had visited Sri Lanka on previous occasions, a revelation that is now expected to form part of the ongoing inquiry.

The incident has revived memories of an earlier high-profile biopiracy case in the Bebawa Uddarakanda forest reserve area, where foreign nationals were found collecting biological resources. In that case, a Sri Lankan court imposed fines exceeding Rs. 10 million on the offenders.