Police Special Task Force on High Alert for Timber Smugglers

Officers of the Police Special Task Force (STF) attached to the Mullaitivu Camp apprehended a suspect on the morning of 22.03.2026 in the Vallipunam area of the Oddusudan Reserve in Theravil, in possession of 104 teak logs.

On the same day, in the early hours, STF officers from the Mankulam Camp arrested two additional suspects along with a lorry used to transport 47 teak logs in the Manawalapattamuruppu section of the Oddusudan Reserve.

The three suspects, aged 38, 42, and 45, are residents of the Pudukudiyiruppu, Kilinochchi, and Melivanam areas. The timber, which had been unlawfully felled and processed after trespassing into the reserve without authorization, has been handed over to the Pudukudiyiruppu Range Forest Office and the Mankulam Police Station for further inquiries.

Meanwhile, STF officers from the Iluppukkadavai Camp conducted a raid in the Mukkampan area within the Akkarayan Police Division on the evening of 20.03.2026. During the operation, a suspect was arrested in possession of 15 tractor-loads of unlicensed timber, including palu, weera, burutha, and kaluwara wood.

The suspect, a 28-year-old resident of the Kilinochchi area, has been handed over to the Punareesankulam Forestry Department for onward investigation.

On the same day, officers from the STF Parayanalankulam Camp arrested a suspect at the Punchikulam junction in the Madhu Police Division while he was transporting 627 pieces of burutha, kohomba, and teak timber that had been illegally cut, using a lorry.

Subsequent investigations revealed that the lorry bore forged number plates. The suspect, a 51-year-old resident of the Maha Nanneriya area, has been handed over to the Madhu Range Forest Office for further legal proceedings.