Two suspected poachers who allegedly shot a tusker inside the Kalamurippu Forest Reserve and sawed off its tusks have been arrested by Mulliyawalai Police.
Police said the dead tusker was about 20 years of age and 8 feet tall. It had been shot in the head using a locally manufactured firearm inside the forest reserve by poachers who had then sawed off and taken its tusks.
The two suspects were arrested following a probe launched by the Mulliyawalai Police, along with officers from Department of Wildlife Conservation's Mullaitivu office. Police said the suspects were arrested while they were planning to sell the two tusks.
Police recovered a locally manufactured firearm, a saw and an axe along with the tusks. The two tusks measuring about 4 feet each, matched the remaining part of the tusks from the elephant carcass, police added.
The arrested suspects, aged 32 and 30 years, are residents of Mulliyawalai. They are due to be produced before the Mullaitivu Magistrate's Court.
By Romesh Madushanka
The Government is finalising a list of names to be posted as heads of Sri Lanka’s missions abroad with ex-Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya assuming the position of Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
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