The Polonnaruwa Magistrate’s Court today (25 March) ordered the freezing of assets belonging to the former Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Welikanda Police, who is evading arrest after a warrant was issued against him in connection with a dairy cattle smuggling case.

The court issued the order following a notification from the Anuradhapura Divisional Criminal Investigation Bureau, which reported that the suspect, a police inspector, had left the area after taking leave.

The case stems from an incident on 23 September last year, when 20 dairy cows being transported without a license were seized and presented before the Polonnaruwa Magistrate’s Court by then OIC of the Welikanda Police, Inspector R.M. Ratnayake. The court subsequently ordered that the cows be handed over to a government-owned animal farm.

However, the court later received an anonymous letter alleging that the OIC had secretly returned the seized cows to the smugglers. In response, the Polonnaruwa Magistrate instructed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to investigate the matter, which was assigned to the Anuradhapura Divisional Criminal Investigation Bureau.

During the investigation, two suspects were arrested and produced before the court, but the former Welikanda OIC, the main suspect in the case, remained at large. Despite an arrest warrant issued on the 11th, he failed to appear in court, having reported sick leave while attached to the Pujapitiya Police.

When the case was called today, the suspect was again absent, prompting Polonnaruwa No. 02 Magistrate Anwar Sadak to take action under Section 60(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The court ordered the seizure of all tangible and intangible assets belonging to the suspect and instructed the Governor of the Central Bank to freeze all his bank accounts, both in Sri Lanka and abroad, and submit details to the court.

Additionally, the court imposed a travel ban on the suspect and ordered him to appear before the court on or before 29 April.