British man arrested with Wallapatta in Fort

October 24, 2017 03:27 pm

A British national has been arrested by police for the possession of more than 3.3 kilograms of Wallapatta (Grynops Walla).

Police said that the 35-year-old suspect, who was staying at a hotel in Colombo Fort, was arrested this morning (24).

He was arrested following a search operation carried out based on information received by Fort Police.

The suspect is to be produced at the Fort Magistrate’s Court today while Fort Police are conducting further investigations.

Transportation or possession of the endemic plant, which only grows in certain parts of the island, is prohibited.

The commercial value of this tree came to light with the attempts to illegally fell and smuggle it to extract Agarwood.

Disclaimer: All the comments will be moderated by the AD editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or slanderous. Please avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment and avoid typing all capitalized comments. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by flagging them(mouse over a comment and click the flag icon on the right side). Do use these forums to voice your opinions and create healthy discourse.