Police have seized more than a tonne of cannabis and arrested two suspects in separate raids in the Mau Ara area of Hambegamuwa, in the Monaragala District, in one of the largest single narcotics hauls reported in the district this year.
Officers seized 1,044 kilogrammes and 180 grammes of cannabis that had been packed and prepared for transportation, police said. The stock carries an estimated street value of Rs. 73,780,000 — close to Rs. 73.8 million. One suspect was taken into custody along with the consignment.
In a second raid in the same area, police uncovered a cannabis cultivation covering approximately one and a half acres. Officers counted 54,096 plants at the site, all of which were taken into custody, and arrested another suspect in connection with the plantation.
Both operations were carried out by the Walana Central Anti-Corruption unit — described by NewsFirst as an anti-corruption strike force — acting on the instructions and direction of the unit’s Director and under the supervision of its Officer-in-Charge.
The three outlets place the seizure differently: NewsFirst reported that the cannabis stock was found near the bank of the Mau Ara canal, Ada Derana located the raid at the Mau Ara reservoir, and the Daily Mirror placed both raids at Gomagala. All three agree the suspects and the seized cannabis were handed to the Hambegamuwa Police Station, which is conducting further investigations.
The Daily Mirror reported that the two suspects are aged 30 and 38 and are residents of Etambalawa. Neither has been named, and no outlet reported when the raids took place or which court the suspects are to be produced before. Police have not said whether the transport consignment and the plantation are linked, or where the packed stock was destined for.
The Hambegamuwa area has drawn repeated enforcement attention. In April, police and Army personnel seized about 155,000 cannabis plants from a three-acre cultivation hidden inside the Udawalawe Reserve, in a raid also involving the Hambegamuwa Police Station. The dense cover and remote access of reserve and reservoir margins in the region have long made detection difficult for enforcement teams.
