Crackdown on illicit cattle slaughter

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

At the crack of dawn police raided an illicit cattle slaughter house at Mabola, Wattala and seized 20 buffaloes and arrested the lorry driver, his assistant and the owner last week. On the same day they lay in ambush and seized another lorry transporting 36 cattle including buffaloes to an illicit slaughter house at Samagi Mawatha, Kandana.

A lorry with the seized animals.

Following both raids police seized several buffaloes and cattle smuggled in from distant places like Anuradhapura. A spokesman for the Police Central Anti Vice Striking Force (CAVSF) told the "Sunday Observer" that the owner of the slaughter houses had carried out a lucrative business without a licence. The illegal trade is estimated to rake in millions of rupees according to police. The butchers distributed the meat to beef stalls in the suburbs of Colombo and elsewhere on the sly.

The racket was blown open when the Police Central Anti Vice Striking Force (CAVSF) swooped on the illegal slaughter house on December 15. Later they lay in ambush at Samagi Mawatha, Kandana and detected a lorry transporting 36 cattle to an illegal slaughter house at Kandana. The cattle have been transported in a most congested manner from distant places like Medawachchiya, Horowpothana and Anuradhapura. The 25 cattle and 11 buffaloes found inside the lorry were in a state of exhaustion due to dehydration. They were cramped inside the lorry. A dead buffalo was found inside the lorry while two more buffaloes were grasping for breath due to suffocation.

According to Police the buffaloes were of a superior breed each costing over Rs 60,000. The cattle were less than six months old, while some were between 1-2 years old. A mother cow along with her 6 month calf were also found in the lorry. Meanwhile the lorry driver, and the cleaner were taken into custody along with the cattle and handed over to the Kandana police to be produced in court. The Wattala Magistrate Lasantha Elgodawela found the suspects guilty and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each suspect and a 12 year old jail sentence suspended for five years. The suspects were severely warned by the Magistrate in open court. The confiscated cattle were ordered to be sent to the government veterinary farm at Welisara.

At the Mabola Wattala, cattle slaughter house the carcase of a buffalo was found along with 31 live buffaloes. They were to be slaughtered on that day. The buffaloes had been brought in from distant places like Embilipitiya, Sevenagala, Hambegamuwa and Kiri Ibban Ara . Following the detection the owner of the slaughter house along with the driver and two other persons were arrested. While searching the lorry a dead buffalo was found in the lorry.

It was subsequently revealed the suspect did not have a licence and the buffaloes were slaughtered without being inspected by a veterinary surgeon. The suspect with the buffaloes were handed over to the Wattala police to be produced in court. When the case was taken up for hearing the Wattala Magistrate Lasantha Elgodawela imposed a fine of Rs 40,000 on the suspects who pleaded guilty to the charges.

The buffaloes were sent to the government veterinary farm at Welisara to be retained until claimed by the owner. The court also directed the lorry owner to show cause as to why the lorry should not be confiscated for transporting cattle without a licence. The total value of the cattle and buffaloes seized is said to be around Rs 19 lakhs.

Exhausted buffaloes sitting on the grass.

The raids were conducted by OIC CAVSF, Inspector Duminda Buddika Balasooriya, Sub Inspectors Mahagedera and Kulatunga on the directions of DIG Staff D.A. de Fonseka and Director CAVSF SP, D.R.L. Ranaweera. Two weeks ago two men who ran an illicit cattle slaughter house in the Talduwa area were produced before the Ruwanwella Magistrate and each person fined Rs. 25,000 each, according to police.

The Central Anti Vice Striking Force (CAVSF) raided the two illicit cattle slaughter houses at Talduwa in the Avissawella area and arrested suspect butchers. The slaughter houses located in two luxury houses at Talduwa riverside road and at Panagalamulla in the Kadagahawatte area were owned by the two butchers.

Police found the carcase of two slaughtered buffaloes and a live buffalo to be slaughtered.

The slaughtering was done in the wee hours of the morning and the meat was distributed among butchers in the area.

The body parts of slaughtered cattle and flesh that weighed 207 kilos were found in both houses. Several knives used for the slaughter were found in the houses located near the Kalu Ganga. Policemen in civilian clothing had surveyed the houses before it was raided.