Four Chinese nationals have been remanded in custody in Sri Lanka after wildlife officials accused them of collecting more than 250 insects and reptiles from the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Kalawana Magistrate’s Court ordered the three men and one woman held until 23 November.

Raid in the forest buffer zone

Wildlife Department officials arrested the group in the buffer zone of the forest in the Weddagala area of Kalawana, acting on information received by the Panahaduwa Range Protection Office. Officials said the seized specimens belonged to nearly 40 animal species, many of them found only in Sri Lanka. The suspects were produced before the court on Monday, 9 November, along with the seized specimens.

The magistrate ordered the live and dead specimens to be sent to the National Museum on Tuesday for identification, after which they are to be released back into the environment, the Department of Wildlife Conservation said. Reports said 34 charges had been filed under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, and investigators suspect the specimens may have been intended for an international smuggling network. The four had arrived in Sri Lanka by air on 5 and 6 November and had previously visited the country, officials said.

Sinharaja is Sri Lanka’s last viable area of primary tropical rainforest and is protected under national law. Wildlife officials said a group of foreign nationals caught in a similar case in another forest reserve was recently fined more than 10 million rupees by a court. Further details are available from News9 and Lanka Leader.