Eight people arrested for transporting endemic plant, Gyrinops Walla

Eight people had been arrested for illegally transporting parts of a plant endemic to Sri Lanka. The Norton Bridge police arrested these people yesterday (01) while they were transporting parts of the plant in a vehicle.

There was an Indonesian national among the suspects.

Initial investigations stated that the suspects intended to take the plant to Colombo, produce and oil from the plant and export it to foreign countries including Indonesia. The plant, Gyrinops Walla, is used to create valuable perfumes and can only be found in the reserve surrounding Adam’s Peak.