Four Chinese nationals arrested for collecting wildlife species in Sinharaja

Daily Mirror, Newswire, Newsfirst and Ada Derana report that four Chinese nationals were detained over alleged collection of insects and reptiles in the Sinharaja Forest area. Newswire says the group consisted of three men and a woman and that the collection took place in the forest’s buffer zone.

Newswire reports that Wildlife Department officials seized more than 250 specimens representing nearly 40 species, including species endemic to Sri Lanka. According to Newswire, the Department of Wildlife Conservation said the operation followed information received by the Panahaduwa Range Protection Office of Udawalawe National Park.

Newswire reports that the four were brought before Kalawana Magistrate’s Court on Monday, November 9, and that the court ordered them held until November 23. Newswire also says the court directed that the live and dead specimens be sent to the National Museum on November 10 for identification, after which they were to be released into the environment.

Newswire reports that inquiries found the group had visited Sri Lanka before and that further investigations are continuing. It also reports that, a few days earlier, a court had fined a separate group of foreign nationals more than Rs. 10 million over a similar alleged incident involving genetic resources in the Babawa Uddarakanda forest reserve area.