Kinniya Sand Mining Raid; 12 Naval Personnel injured, Body of escaped suspect recovered

(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – The body of one of the two suspects who escaped arrest during an illegal sand mining raid by jumping into the Mahaweli River was discovered on Tuesday (29).

During a raid conducted by the Sri Lanka Navy yesterday in Kinniya, Trincomalee to arrest a group of people involved in sand mining, the racketeers along with locals in the area have behaved aggressively to remonstrate with the Navy in an organised manner, the Navy Media Unit stated, adding that the Naval Troops had to fire two shots into the air to disperse the rampant crowd as the organised racketeers and locals behaved in an aggressive manner and attempted to attack on the Naval Personnel.

The incident left 12 Navy Personnel injured.

On an attempt to apprehend the racketeers, three have jumped into the Mahaweli River and fled the scene. However, one suspect was arrested again while two others had fled the area by jumping into the Mahaweli River.

Operations are currently underway in search of the suspect who escaped the arrest, the Navy Media Unit further added.