A turtle conspiracy

By Kurulu Kujana Kariyakarawana

A controversial tale involving a missing albino turtle worth millions of rupees that gripped an entire country with surprise and suspense for over a month drawing the attention of many, ended last week in Kosgoda with the court ordering the dispersal of the hatchery and to acquire the precious creatures into the government custody. The turtle topic was stimulated when the police simultaneously raided a turtle slaughter house in Negombo in a different series of events as reported last week.

Owner Kosgoda Turtle Conservation Centre Chandrasiri Abrew

Herpetologist Anslem de Silva

OIC Walana Panadura Central Anti Vice Striking Unit Duminda Balasuriya

Transferring the four turtles to Colombo Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala was a sad scene where some of the employees attached to hatchery in Kosgoda were seen becoming emotional when they had to bid farewell to the animals they brought up since babies with utmost care. The four live turtles were transferred in special tanks filled with sea water whereas the carcass of the other albino turtle believed to have died several months ago was taken out from the formalin container. The court had ordered to hand over the live animals to the Colombo Zoo and to conduct a post mortem on the dead animal and destroy the carcass.

The turtle controversy which commenced with a complaint lodged at the Kosgoda Police by an employee of a turtle hatchery in the area about a missing expensive albino turtle was brought out various theories until it was proven to be a hoax. Many believed the turtle was stolen by several wealthy buyers including a local musician or stolen by an organised gang that would have sold it for around Rs.40 million. Some others believed that the animal was stolen by a group on vengeance that the owner of it was too hesitant to sell it even for the highest bidder.

Chandrasiri Abrew the owner of Kosgoda Turtle Conservation Centre through one of his employees lodged a complaint with the Kosgoda Police on December 16th that one of his four precious white turtles has gone missing on the previous night. The animal that was leisurely swimming in one of the ponds was missed when the employees returned to the centre in the morning. The missing creature described to be weighing around 9.5kilograms was reportedly the largest among all four albino turtles which he had been having for sometime. The Kosgoda Police immediately launched an inquiry not only considering that it is one of the rarest species in the world but hearing of its remarkable value claimed by the owner.

Initial statements were recorded from the owner, his family and the employees of the centre as well as the neighbours but no concrete evidence was ascertained. The police brought in sniffer dogs to the crime scene but it was not much of use. From the owner's statement the detectives learnt that several persons were thoroughly interested in buying the large albino turtle, one of whom was the singer Amal Perera, the son of legendary singer Mervin Perera. Abrew told the police that singer Amal Perera accompanied by a Maldivian national had offered Rs.40 million to buy the animal. Among several other buyers was a Constable attached to the Kosgoda Police itself who claimed that he had a foreign buyer. The policeman had telephoned Abrew on December 14th saying that his buyer would leave the country in a couple of days time and asked for a final offer which was categorically rejected by the latter. It is on the following night that the turtle had gone missing, the owner told the police.

Some of the captured turtles turned upside down

A special police team was deployed by Matara Division Police Senior Superintendent Deshabandu Tennakoon who instructed the special unit to commence a separate inquiry into the case. The police recorded statements from 12 people including the owner and the employees were questioned again. In the meantime the police found a carcass of a white turtle kept preserved in the compound away from the visitors. A glass tank bore the carcass of a fairly large albino turtle submerged in formalin which from the external appearance matched the details of the missing turtle. When questioned the owner told the police that the turtle died six months ago when it had accidentally eaten a squirrel nest that fell into its pond. The indigestion of the squirrel nest had lead to the death of the albino turtle.

With this discovery the police felt something fishy was going on as neither the owner nor the employees had made any reference to the died turtle in their initial statements. The first complaint stated the centre only possessed four albino turtles and one of them is missing. But since the recovery of the carcass of a fifth albino turtle the case got twisted and the genuine sympathetic impression which the law enforcing authorities had towards the owner of the centre changed into a doubtful cautious one. The impression which the police had that the case was a genuine theft converted into a fraudulent act by the management of the hatchery who may be trying a different game in seek of an ulterior motive. When the inquiries were continuing a strange incident happened on January 14th when the investigators were tipped off by an anonymous caller that two albino turtles are being kept at a house in Ambalangoda belonging to the owner's daughter Wasana Abrew. The police immediately took the owner Abrew and his associate who lodged the first compliant Daminda Kumara into custody along with the turtles. The police also found two more turtles in the centre. Following this Abrew told the police that for the safety of the remaining turtles he had quietly shifted two animals to his daughter's house in Ambalangoda. The police was tipped off when a neighbour had noticed the unusual behaviour of Abrew and his son-in-law Sagara Siriwardena who had been fetching sea water three times a day. Following the recovery Abrew told a different story to the police that there were not four but six albino turtles in the conservation centre including the dead one.

Having made this contradictory statement the police realised that the owner was lying about the missing animal and the story to have been fabricated. Chandarasiri Abrew and his assistant Daminda Kumara were produced before Balapitiya Magistrate and released on a surety bail of Rs.500, 000 each and a cash bail of Rs.15, 000. Abrew's passport was also impounded and the case will be next heard on February 19.

Meanwhile, singer Amal Perera was summoned to the scene to identify the fourth turtle that was found in Wasantha Abrew's house, which the former had reportedly identified as the one he wished to buy. However in response to all this Chandrasiri Abrew said at a media briefing that he is not lying and somebody had actually taken away the sixth turtle. Abrew had started the turtle conservation centre in 1978 and since then he had never sold a single turtle that was bred in his hatchery.

According to him there is an unexplained conspiracy behind the missing turtle since several powerful and influential people had tried to purchase it.

Although the turtle owner was arrested on suspicion for making a false complaint to the police and the rest of the pieces of the story seemed to have matched together, nobody can completely rule out the fact that there was a sixth turtle who had actually gone missing or stolen by someone. Since its the responsibility of the law enforcing authorities to crack the entire mystery behind the turtle drama, another heart rending story was heard from Negombo where the police raided a turtle slaughtering den for meat.

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Turtle slaughterhouse in Negombo

Unlike for the curious and possessive story previously heard about these innocent rare animals a gruesome story is reported where bitter cruelty has been shown to the turtles for a long time. Walana Panadura Central Anti Vice Striking Unit on information raided the slaughterhouse in Medapitiwana area in Negombo on December 13th.

About two weeks ago OIC Anti Vice Squad Inspector Duminda Balasuriya received a confidential information about a well-organised secret racket of supplying turtle meat to leading tourist hotels in Negombo area. Since turtles are an endangered species worldwide and illegal possession, breed, sale or slaughter is completely prohibited in Sri Lanka an immediate inquiry was opened.

Two turtles already slaughtered for meat

According to the initial information received by IP Balasuriya a person in Medapitiwana area is provided with sea turtles by many fishermen for various prices, who would then slaughter them himself and supply to hotels in the area. The OIC deployed two undercover officers to carry out a background investigation on the mentioned area. The undercover policemen had monitored the situation for over a week when they suddenly received a positive information that a batch of turtles are to be delivered to the slaughterhouse on December 12th night.

The slaughterhouse is located on the banks of a small creek in a marshland covered by a thick forest and a mangroves grove. The place is located about a kilometre inland from the Negombo coast where the creek ends. All the main fishing boats and deep sea trawlers as well as anglers who collect the turtles would bring it to the point where the creek meets the sea. From there the man in charge of the illicit business would bring along the live turtles to his slaughterhouse on a canoe through the creek. On the mentioned night a nine member police team deployed by IP Balasuriya surrounded the slaughterhouse which is actually a makeshift hut where the butcher used to live. By the time the police arrived the butcher had commenced his duty and had already slaughtered two turtles and was about to move on to the remaining four. He was immediately taken into custody and recovered four live turtles that had been kept with the dorsal surface faced down to prevent the animals flee for its lives.

The suspect had used several types of utensils including an axe, two machetes and knives to carry out his brutal duty. The recovered turtles were weighing around 10 to 15kilograms where a kilogram of fresh turtle meat is sold between Rs.500 to Rs.1,000. It is learnt that the suspect had been receiving around five turtles a day which had been killed and the meat supplied to the hotels. According to the butcher he had started doing this job since the beginning of the new year but the police believe that he had carried it out well over six months with an rough income of Rs.30, 000 to Rs.40, 000 a day.

Police also found that brokers from various hotels daily visit the scene from numerous vehicles to purchase meat from him and to supply even to certain leading star class hotels that secretly sell turtle meat only to foreigners as an expensive delicacy. The suspect had admitted that he had killed about 100 turtles so far in that creek where he dispose the empty shells. He was produced before the Negombo Magistrate who imposed a cash bail of Rs.100, 000 and ordered to release the remaining four live turtles to the sea under the supervision of the officials of the NARA branch in Negombo. The detection was conducted by IP Duminda Balasuriya under the special instructions of Director Walana - Panadura Central Anti Vice Striking Unit SP Uditha Perera.

Anslem de Silva - Herpetologist

Anslem de Silva who is a renowned Herpetologist in the country and with specialised knowledge in turtles said that there are seven types of turtles discovered in the world of which five come to Sri Lankan shores to nest.

Generally known as turtles, the five types of Chelonians that visit Sri Lanka are Dermochelys Coriatia (Leather Bag), Caretta Caretta (Loger Head), Lepidochelys Olivacae (Olive Ridley), Eretmochelys Imbricata (Hawks Bill) and Chelonie Mydas (Green Turtle).

The first one is considered to be the most rarest of all kinds in the world which is nominated in the red list of critically endangered species. The last one the green turtle is the most commonly seen type.

In each type there maybe albino ones that are said to be found in one in ten thousand eggs. A turtle regularly lays about 50 - 100 eggs and the breeding season of each type differs. The popular coastal areas where the turtles chose to breed in Sri Lanka are Kosgoda, Bundalama and Amaduwa.