• Ex-soldier nabbed with weapons, ammo 
• 304 kg court production drugs destroyed post-case conclusions 

A man has reportedly died after being electrocuted by an illegally installed electrical wire fence used to protect a cultivated land from animals in the Yaya Haya area of Morawewa. The deceased has been identified as a 57-year-old resident of Morawewa. Preliminary investigations have revealed the victim himself had installed the illegal electric wire in question.

A suspect was arrested in Atawiragollewa in the Kongollewa area for the possession of a live hand grenade, 52 Type-56 live rounds, and 30 rounds of nine millimetre ammunition. The raid was carried out by a team of officers from the Atawiragollewa Police Station based on received intelligence. The suspect is a 48-year-old former Army soldier and a resident of the Atawiragollewa area.  

Elsewhere, a consignment of narcotics, for which legal proceedings had been concluded, was destroyed on Monday (27) at an incineration facility in Laktowatta, Wanathawilluwa. The destroyed drugs were part of seizures made during operations conducted by the Police Narcotics Bureau, with cases concluded in the Chilaw and Balapitiya courts. Accordingly, the haul included 22 kilograms (kg) and 888 grams (g) of heroin, 33 kg and 172 g of Kerala cannabis, and 247 kg and 940 g of cannabis, all of which were disposed of during the operation.

A total of 576 suspects were arrested on Monday during the ongoing island-wide crime and drug prevention operations conducted by the Police. Accordingly, a total of 27,901 persons were subjected to inspection during the operations. A total of 17 individuals directly linked to criminal activities were identified. A total of 227 individuals with day warrants and 158 with open warrants were taken into custody during the same operations. A total of 115 drunk drivers and 61 reckless drivers were arrested, while legal action has been initiated against 4,174 individuals for various traffic offences.