By Hemalatha Hewage   

A lorry load of illicit timber was seized in transit and a suspect arrested by the Katana police during a raid at Kandawala on the Katana- Negombo road yesterday.   

Police said the suspect was transporting the stock of timber under the pretext of transporting garments from a factory. The 35 year old suspect was a resident of Dunagaha in Minuwangoda. Investigations revealed that the vehicle had been contracted by a garment factory but the suspect had used it to transport timber at times.   
Under interrogation he told police that the stock of timber containing Jak and Mahogany planks was valued at more than Rs.1.5million. The suspect and the stock of timber were to be produced before the 
Negombo Magistrate.   

OIC Katana Police CI M.A.Seneviratne , OIC Anti Vice Unit SI J.M.S.Jayakody and PC 22242 Rajapaksa had carried out the raid on the instructions of ASP Palitha Amaratunga and SSP Saman Sigera.