Five wildlife officials at the Kaudulla National Park have been interdicted for allowing safari jeeps carrying foreign tourists to enter the park without tickets and pocketing the admission fees.
Director General of Wildlife, Ranjith Marasinghe, stated that legal action has also been initiated against 10 safari jeeps that entered the park illegally during this period. Additionally, the services of four volunteer guides at the park have been immediately terminated in connection with the incident.
Kaudulla National Park is globally renowned as a prime destination for witnessing the beauty of wild elephants, drawing a massive number of local and foreign tourists daily. It is a significant contributor to the country’s economy.
However, against this backdrop, Safari Jeep Associations had been alleging for some time that jeeps carrying tourists were being allowed into the Wildlife Department-controlled park without purchasing tickets. They accused a group of running a large-scale racket where the money paid by foreigners to enter the Kaudulla National Park was shared among a specific group instead of being remitted to the state.
Following personal complaints lodged by safari jeep owners with Director General Ranjith Marasinghe, a special investigation unit from Colombo was deployed for a sudden raid at the park.
During the raid, the unit uncovered 10 jeeps that were conducting tours for foreigners without valid tickets or inspection. However, reports indicate that upon receiving a tip-off about the investigation team’s presence, the operators of these jeeps managed to flee the park secretly.
The scam involved collecting USD 20 from SAARC region tourists and USD 25 from other foreign tourists per head. This organized racket has allegedly deprived the Treasury of a massive amount of revenue.
