Forest reserves, a haven for drug lords

By Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

A police informant from the Southern province turned up at the Walana Vice Squad, Panadura last month and met its Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Inspector Duminda Balasuriya. who was armed with vital information regarding thriving Ganja plantations in the Hambegamuwa state forest reservation.

He said vast acres of land in the state forest reservations of Hambegamuwa were being cultivated with thousands of Ganja (Cannabis sativa) plants by farmers making enormous profits due to soaring prices of Ganja in the open market in the country.

He said the farmers at Hambegamuwa were motivated on making a fast buck as Ganja paid them dividends more than traditional crops such as paddy and corn. He further said the men who harvested Ganja were the local farmers who knew the inhospitable and inaccessible jungle terrain infested with wild elephants.

Risks

As beasts roam the jungle searching for food, few people dare to venture into the jungles knowing the risks involved. Several men who venture into the jungle for felling illicit timber have been attacked by marauding wild elephants and some even being killed in the past.

The local farmers were aware of it and that was reason for them to choose forest reservation for cultivating Ganja in a most brazen manner.

Another reason why people did not venture into the jungles was due to fear of trap guns being placed on the path ways that lead to the Ganja plantations.In the past there have been instances where timber poachers were killed or maimed due to trap guns.

The OIC, having given a patient hearing to what the informant revealed, discussed the matter with his superior, the Superintendent of Police Palitha Fernando.

As the information appeared to be credible they decided to further discuss the matter with DIG Staff, at the Police Headquarters Mahesh Samaradivakara. They briefed IGP N.K. Ilangakoon about Ganja plants being grown in the state forest reservations in Hambegamuwa and in the Udawalewe areas.

Farmers

They also told him that farmers in rural areas were supported by underworld drug lords who provide them with financial support. In the meantime several news reports appeared in the local media about the existence of illicit Ganja plantations in state forest reservations.

Finally IGP. N.K. Illangakoon gave his approval to raid the Ganja plantations. Thereafter an elaborate plan was mapped out to raid the state forest reservation. Inspector Balasuriya hurriedly assembled a team of hand picked police officers and despatched them to Hambegamuwa forest reservation on the following day.

The policemen were briefed to pose as Forest Officers collecting statistics of wild elephants that roam the jungles of Hambegamuwa. Their mission was to collect and communicate information regarding Ganja plantations to OIC Walana Vice Squad with precise details of the pathways leading to the reservation.

The policemen that arrived at Hambegamuwa on a surveillance mission began hobnobbing with villagers and gathered information regarding the Ganja plantations. They also came to know that farmers who resided in cottages adjacent to the state forest reservation cultivated paddy lands. They also learnt the farmers also cultivated Ganja in the forest reservation to augment their income. To prevent intruders into forest reservation farmers lay awake all night and laid trap guns in the jungle.

Network

The information was forthwith conveyed to Inspector Balasuriya to lay a groundwork network to raid the forest reservation. First and foremost he began mapping out an alternate route to approach the territory to avoid trap guns.

Having assembled a team of hand picked policemen, OIC Balasuriya left Walana station along with Sub Inspector Lasantha, Police Sergeant Wijesuriya, Karunaratne and several Police Constables on November 17 midnight. They also carried with them adequate food stuff and cooking utensils and arrived at Hambegamuwa before dawn. As it was too dangerous to enter the forest reservation in pitch darkness due to the presence of wild elephants, they travelled for about six kilometres passing several villages into the jungle in their vehicle before dawn broke. Prior to approaching the Ganja plantation they got off the vehicle and started trudging along the jungle footpaths to avoid alerting farmers.

The police party encountered a herd of wild elephants from Udawalave that entered the Hambegamuwa forest reservation by breaking the electrical fence in the village.

According to police, even people who live in villages adjacent to the forest reservation rarely step out of their home due to fear of wild elephant attacks. Two weeks ago a man who was attacked by a wild elephant succumbed to his injuries. The elephants were seen feeding on crops and destroying paddy fields. Despite the presence of wild elephants in the forest reservation the undeterred policemen trudged on foot towards the reservation.

They did not even fire into the air to disperse the elephants as it would alert the farmers in the Ganja plantations.

However, when some policemen encountered wild elephants, they ran in different directions to save their lives. It took them nearly an hour to regroup themselves.

The OIC, split the police party into four groups and instructed one group to proceed towards the farm houses while others were told to remain where they were to provide security to the policemen.

The time was around 5.54 am when policemen took into custody a man carrying a muzzle loading gun near the farm houses. Finally the man led the police party to two Ganja plantations when sunlight started filtering through the foliage.

The time was around 5.45 a.m. There were 5-7 feet fully grown Ganja plants, according to police. The police party after partaking their morning breakfast began uprooting the Ganja plants in one acre of the estate.

There were 5,000 fully grown ganja plants and another 2,500 plants in a half acre plot. There were also 10,000 Ganja plants in a nursery. All the plants were valued over Rs. 5 million were uprooted and set on fire.

“The market value of a kilo of Ganja is around Rs 20,000.” police said. Three suspects found in the Ganja plantation were taken into custody after a day-long operation.

The suspects were handed over to the Hambegauwa police station to be produced in courts.