Police tighten grip on treasure hunters

 By Jayampathy Jayasinghe

The hunt for priceless treasures and artefacts from temples and archaeological sites scattered throughout the country has taken a sudden surge despite the clampdown on such activity. Treasure hunting is banned by an Act of Parliament and only the Archaeological Department is empowered to carry out such activities. Most treasure hunters who have dug for treasures from archaeological sites and abandoned temples have been rounded up by the police while a few have managed to escape with the loot, police said.

The question that looms large is why so many people have joined the bandwagon of treasure hunters during the past few years. It is a lucrative trade to gamble with despite overwhelming possibility of being arrested by the police. But the new trend has caught up fast in the country and many who venture into such projects are mostly fortune seekers who want to make a fast buck.

In the past we rarely heard of treasure hunting done on a vast scale unlike today. Only the Archaeological Department excavated treasures from hallowed sites in the past. It was during the period of Dr. Senarath Paranavithana that most treasures in Ceylon, as it was known then, were discovered.

Disposal

What comes into our mind naturally is how treasure hunters dispose their stolen goods. It is a known fact that there is a demand for stolen artefacts and treasures such as golden Buddha Statues and precious gems. The stolen items are then smuggled across to foreign countries by syndicates involved in such activities, experts say. Treasure hunting will continue to be a thriving trade such as ivory in the African continent. It is common sense that people today are more knowledgeable about hidden treasures buried centuries ago. It is even plausible to think that knowledgeable people are the ones who tip off treasure hunters of buried treasures at various places.

There appears to be renewed interest on the subject judging from the number of cases detected so far.

Police have also set up a special unit in conjunction with the Archaeological Department to combat the menace of plundering treasures from temples, archaeological and hallowed sites.

The special unit is manned by a Superintendent of Police (SP) who has been vested with powers to carry out raids on illegal excavation of treasures in any part of the country. IGP N.K. Illangakoon has also appointed a senior Deputy Inspector General of Police to oversee the entire operation. The public can now inform the unit directly when they come to know of illegal excavations taking place in any part of the country. Several police units have been set up in provincial towns to thwart the pilferage of archaeological treasures. The units are manned by a Chief Inspector of Police.

Bulldozing

Last month a treasure hunting case was reported from Mottayagala-Urawatti in the Ampara area when treasure hunters were found bulldozing an old run-down dagoba in search of treasure. Acting on a tip-off the Ampara special archaeological unit arrested seven suspects involved in the excavation process. The suspects were from Kaluwanchikudi and from Wananyagapura areas. They were produced before the Potuvil Magistrate and remanded.

However a few weeks prior to the incident, the Ampara police unit had informed the archaeological office at Ampara to conserve the abandoned dagoba as it had become vulnerable to treasure hunters.

But the complaint fell on deaf ears and no action was taken to rehabilitate the ancient dagoba located three miles away at Kalikowa Aliweva.

Another treasure hunting case was reported to the Hasalaka police station last month on the disappearance of a 14 kilo silver Buddha statue dating back to the 13th century.

However, following the arrest of a suspect from Meegahakivuala, the Galagedara police recovered the priceless Buddha statue.

Last month the Bakamuma police acting on a tip off arrested five suspects engaged in excavating a treasure in a plot of land at Radavi-Oya in the Kadawela area. The suspects had in their possession, a water pump, crow- bars and other implements used for digging up the land. The suspects were produced before the Hingurakgoda Magistrates Courts. Last week the Special investigation unit of the Gampaha police busted a ring of treasure hunters operating in Katupotha. It was revealed that the gang made an attempt to steal a rare gold Buddha statue from the Kahatavilagedera temple.

The Katupotha police subsequently arrested two suspects from a lodge at Ja-Ela and recovered the van used by the suspects. The main suspect is an army deserter who was convicted by courts for possessing 120 kilograms of gold obtained from excavating a hidden treasure in 2010. The other suspect was wanted in connection with several house breaking and theft cases in the Gampaha area. The police are on the look out for other suspects wanted in connection with several treasure hunting cases. Hatton police last week arrested a man who was trying to dispose a valuable ebony statue of a god. The suspect is from Ravana Ella and the police have informed the Archaeological Department of the theft. On March 12 treasure hunters vandalised the Siva temple at Polonnaruwa and dug a three foot hole where the Sivalingam was buried. Two years ago the same Siva Temple was vandalised by treasure hunters, police said.

Posterity

At a recent workshop at St. Joseph's Balika Vidyalaya in Kegalle to educate schoolchildren, parliamentarian Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera stressed the value of preserving archaeological treasures for posterity. Schoolchildren from 22 schools participated in the seminar.

According to Police Media Spokesman SSP Prishantha Jayakody the police conducted 498 raids on illicit treasure hunting in 2011 and arrested 220 suspects involved in such cases.The revenue earned by the State from fines imposed by the courts was Rs. 261,370,010. In 2010 police arrested 260 suspects following 294 raids conducted on illicit treasure hunting and the revenue earned from fines were Rs. 12,942,000. In 2012 police conducted 364 raids and arrested 110 treasure hunters from January to March and revenue from fines amounted to Rs. 95,000.000.