The Sri Lanka Air Force Intelligence Operatives together with troops from the Sri Lanka Police Special Task Force conducted raids on 8 identified Cannabis Cultivation Sites within the Udawalawe Forest Reserve yesterday (20 August 2020).

On the instructions of the Head of the Presidential Task Force to build a Secure Nation, Disciplined, Virtuous and Lawful Society, Major General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne, under the guidance of the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Sumangala Dias and with the coordination of the Commandant of the STF, Deputy Inspector General of Police Waruna Jayasundara, the raids were carried out yesterday within the Udawalawe Reserve.

The sites were identified and confirmed by observations made by the Beach King Aircraft of the SLAF. Two SLAF Helicopters made up of a Bell 212 and a MI-17 were utilized to infiltrate the selected sites by air. Sri Lanka Police STF troops were inserted to the locations by these helicopter and these infiltrations were followed by SLAF and STF troop also raiding the locations from ground as well.

The cannabis plants grown in these sites amounted to approximately 160,000 which were all destroyed during this operation.