Five arrested for assaulting STF during raid on illegal sand mining

By Darshawna Sanjeewa   
Five illegal sand miners, including three women, were arrested for assaulting a group of STF personnel and interrupting their duties during a raid on an illegal sand mining at Ariyalai in Jaffna.  

Police said a team of Special Task Force (STF) personnel attached to the Jaffna STF camp, had left for Ariyalai area on Saturday evening to arrest a group of illegal sand miners in the area.   

The STF arrested several suspects during the raid and then another group of racketeers attempted to release the arrested sand miners from the STF custody by assaulting the officers.   The arrested suspects aged between 18 and 34 were identified as residents of Ariyalai.   The STF also seized a tractor and a motorcycle along with the five suspects. They were handed over to the Jaffna Police.  They were to produced in the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court yesterday.   

Earlier this year, twelve Navy officers were injured during a clash that took place when the officers confronted illegal sand miners at Kandakadu in Kinniya on January 29.  The Navy and the STF are frequently conducting raids on illegal sand mining on the instructions of the President and the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau.