The forest officers in the Anuradhapura District in collaboration with Ulukkulama STF commandos thwarted a large-scale illegal gravel excavation racket in the proposed Navodagama forest reservation in the Mahawilachchiya Divisional Secretariat (DS) division, near the Navodagama tank bed.
During the raid conducted on a tip-off, five persons engaged in gravel cutting and transportation, three tippers and lorries, and an excavator machine used for gravel mining were taken into custody. The suspects submitted a permit issued by the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau through the Wilachchiya DS office, and the forest conservation officers took them into custody since gravel excavation is not permitted in the particular landscape proposed to be declared as a forest reservation.
RFO-Anuradhapura Samith Suwaris, Wilachchiya beat forest officer U.B.V.P. Rathnayake, Ulukkulama BFO H.S.P. Rathnasekara, and Pandulagama BFO M.N. Jayasinghe of the Forest Conservation Department with STF Inspector G.G.U.R. Dayaratne and commandos participated in the raid.
RFO Sumith said that the suspects were engaged in gravel excavation blocking an elephant corridor for several days.
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