A woman present at the location was arrested by the officers and later produced before the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court, along with the seized replica. The Magistrate released the suspect on personal bail of Rs. 50,000 and ordered that the item be sent to the National Museums Department for expert analysis. The case is scheduled to be taken up again on January 16, 2026.
The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya), an endangered and strictly protected species under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance, is endemic to Sri Lanka. Possession, sale, display, or transport of its body parts is a punishable offense. The public is urged to report any such activities to the Department of Wildlife Conservation via hotline 1992.
The raid was conducted by officers of the Western Wildlife Zonal Office, including Wildlife Site Guard (Superior Grade) P.K.P.M. Pradeep Ratnayake, Wildlife Site Guard R.K. Somachandra, Wildlife Site Assistant I.R. Samarasinghe, Wildlife Regulators K.P.Y. Nawanjana and Pradeep Ratnasiri, Field Assistant A.A.U. Pushpakumari, and Driver G.G. Thushara.
