35,000 cannabis plants raided in Kantale reserve, one arrested
Army Intelligence and wildlife officers raided a three-acre cannabis plantation holding more than 35,000 plants inside the Somawathiya Reserve at Agbopura, Divulgaswewa on 3 November 2026. One suspect was arrested at the scene and the Kantale wildlife department is conducting further legal proceedings.
🇱🇰 Somawathiya Reserve, Agbopura, Divulgaswewa, Kantale · Sri Lanka
On 3 November 2026, following information received by Army Intelligence, a joint
raid by Army personnel and the Department of Wildlife Conservation in Kantale
uncovered a large-scale illegal cannabis cultivation inside the Somawathiya
Reserve in Agbopura, Divulgaswewa.[1]One suspect was arrested at the scene
during the operation, the only detention reported in the account.[1]The
Department of Wildlife Conservation in Kantale is conducting further legal
proceedings regarding the incident.[1]
The raided plantation covered three acres, about 1.21 hectares, and contained
more than 35,000 cannabis plants on that plot.[1]Officers also discovered an
additional two acres of land at the same reserve site being prepared for further
cultivation.[1]
The raid followed the Army Intelligence tip-off and was conducted jointly with
wildlife conservation officers.[1]The cultivation site lay inside the
Somawathiya Reserve in the Kantale area.[1]The available account names no
other arrested people and gives no further personal details about the person
held.[1]
Photos and video
Cannabis plants at the plantation discovered inside the Somawathiya Reserve.Photo details
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
1
Area
1.2 ha
Agency type
Military
Cannabis
Living plants (35,000 plants)
Activity
Cultivation
Setting
Field
Grown
Outdoor
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
Newswirenewswire.lkArmy intelligence tip-off leads to raid on 35,000 plant cannabis cultivation
Open questions the AI reported
Over 35,000 plants is reported as a lower bound; no exact plant count was published, so 35,000 is recorded.
Three acres is recorded as about 1.21 hectares; the additional two acres being prepared for cultivation held no reported plants and is excluded from figures.
The report says the plantation was raided and uncovered but does not state explicitly that the plants were uprooted, seized or destroyed.
No charges, suspect details or court outcome were reported; the Kantale wildlife department's legal proceedings were still under way.
Only one accessible source for this event was found after searching in English.
The map pin marks Kantale town; the Somawathiya Reserve plot at Agbopura, Divulgaswewa was not separately geolocated.
Galle District Crime Division officers arrested a 41-year-old Unawatuna resident in a local raid and recovered over 125 grams of Kush alongside crystal methamphetamine. Police said further investigations into the possession case were underway.
Wildlife officers and Army Intelligence raided two cannabis plantations covering about 1.5 acres above Dozer Pitiya inside Somawathiya National Park on 2 November 2026. One suspect was arrested and remanded by the Hingurakgoda Court until 13 November while two other suspects fled.
Police in Thanamalwila arrested a 57-year-old man after finding 754 kg of dried cannabis, valued at nearly 100 million rupees, in a room of his house in the Arambekema area. An investigation into his assets is also under way.
Officers of the Walana Central Anti-Corruption Striking Unit raided a half-acre cannabis cultivation at Gomele Mav-Ara on 30 September 2026, seizing 47,150 plants. A 53-year-old man from Udagama was arrested and handed to Meegahagamuwa police with the plants.
