Army and police seize 155,000 cannabis plants in Udawalawe reserve
Acting on army intelligence, Hambegamuwa police and soldiers raided a three-acre cannabis field inside the Udawalawe reserve on 11 April and seized about 155,000 plants worth Rs 4.5 million. The reports name no arrests.
🇱🇰 Udawalawe Reserve · Sri Lanka
- Hectares
- 1.2
- Value (official estimate)
- LKR 4,500,000
On 11 April 2026, acting on intelligence received by the Sri Lanka Army’s intelligence unit, Hambegamuwa police and army personnel launched a coordinated raid on a suspected cannabis field inside the Udawalawe reserve.[1][2] They uncovered around 155,000 cannabis plants, each standing about three feet tall, on a cultivation spanning about three acres (around 1.2 hectares).[1][2] The seized plants were estimated to be worth Rs 4.5 million.[1][2]
The cultivation was taken into custody, in what the reports present as part of a drive against illegal drug activity and for the protection of the country’s natural reserves.[1][2] Neither report names any arrests or cultivators.[1][2]
Sources
- Cannabis Plantation Worth Rs 4.5 Million Seized. VivaLanka, 12 April 2026. Archived copy.
- Illegal Cannabis Cultivation Seized in Udawalawe Reserve. Paperblog, 14 April 2026.