A joint operation in the Galgamuwa area has uncovered a site allegedly used to manufacture hakka-patas — the improvised jaw bombs that maim and kill wild elephants — and several suspects were arrested in possession of deer skins and the devices themselves.
The raid was carried out by officers of the Department of Wildlife Conservation together with the Police Special Task Force (STF) and the Civil Security Department, Daily Mirror reported. It was mounted on the instructions of Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi.
Hakka-patas are explosive charges concealed in bait. An elephant that bites down detonates the device, shattering its jaw; the injury is frequently fatal and death is slow. They remain one of the principal causes of elephant deaths in Sri Lanka’s dry-zone districts.
What the operation covered
The operation targets equipment used against wild elephants and other wildlife — hakka-patas, snares and illegal firearms. During the raid officers identified the suspected manufacturing site and arrested several individuals allegedly holding deer skins and jaw bombs. Investigations into the suspects and the recovered items are continuing.
The campaign is being run by the Department of Wildlife Conservation in five teams, with security support from the STF and the Civil Security Department, and a large number of wildlife officers taking part under the direction of Prashantha Wimaladasa, Assistant Director for Kurunegala and Puttalam.
The Environment Minister had instructed the Director General of Wildlife Conservation to intensify operations against hakka-patas, snares and illegal firearms used to kill or injure wild elephants. Officials said legal action would follow against those involved and that similar raids would continue in areas frequented by elephants.
A date that does not fit
Daily Mirror filed this report on 6 October but dates the raid itself to “June 10”, while describing the wider operation in the present tense — “is being conducted in five teams” — and saying further raids are still to come. The two cannot both be straightforwardly true, and no other verified newsroom had covered the operation at the time of writing, so the discrepancy could not be resolved. The date is reported here as Daily Mirror gave it rather than silently corrected.
Not reported: how many suspects were arrested, where exactly the manufacturing site was found, how many devices were recovered, or when the five-team campaign began.
