Twenty-five people, including three gem businessmen, have been arrested by the Walana Central Anti-Corruption Unit during a raid on a large-scale illegal gem mining operation in Horana.
The operation targeted the Kobawaka Watta area along the Kalu Ganga estuary, where unauthorised mining was reportedly being carried out.
Officers also seized gem mining equipment valued at more than Rs. 70 million during the raid, including 11 boats and five motors allegedly used in the illegal activity.
Gem mining in Sri Lanka is regulated by the National Gem and Jewellery Authority, which issues licences specifying where and how mining may be carried out. Unlicensed river and estuary mining has long been a concern for authorities because of the damage it causes to riverbanks and waterways, and the Kalu Ganga basin — which runs through the gem-rich Ratnapura and Kalutara districts — has been a recurring focus of enforcement operations.
Further details of the arrests, including whether the suspects have been produced before court, were not immediately available.
Update — August 4: all 25 granted bail
All 25 suspects held in remand over the operation have been released on bail, Hiru News reported.
Horana Magistrate Lakmini Vidanagamage ordered on August 3 that each be released on a personal bail of Rs. 500,000. The suspects, aged between 19 and 35, are residents of Horana, Wagawatta, Kiriella and other areas, and had spent five days in remand custody.
Appearing for the defence, Attorney-at-Law Roshan Dehiwala argued that the alleged offence does not fall under the Offences Against Public Property Act at all, submitting that if it were held to do so, even an accident on an expressway would come within the Act. Attorneys Nalin Imbulagoda, Uthpala Athukorala and Thanu Kalubowila also appeared for the suspects.
Investigating officers told the court that the group had used machinery to mine in broad daylight over a long period, causing extensive environmental damage, and that they had operated without fear because they enjoyed the backing of influential figures.
Hiru’s account differs from the initial Ada Derana report on two points. It places the site at Wagawatta rather than Kobawaka Watta, and puts the seizure at 14 boats and six motors alongside other gem mining equipment, where Ada Derana reported 11 boats and five motors. Both identify the same unit as conducting the raid — the Walana Central Anti-Corruption Strike Force at Panadura, under the direction of Chief Inspector Indika Weerasinghe, with Chief Inspectors Ajith Shantha and Nissanka among the officers involved.
