The two German nationals who were arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle rare species of animals and plants from the Sinharaja Reserve, including oysters and crabs, to Germany have been remanded till the 8th of April.
The duo was remanded after they were produced before the Morawaka Court this afternoon by the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
The Director of Museums and the Director of Botanical Gardens were ordered to identify and report on the species of animals and plants found in their possession.
The two tourists, aged 47 and 52, had arrived in Sri Lanka to visit the Sinharaja Kurulugala trail in Deniyaya.
One of the German nationals had allegedly snatched a lizard from a tree and tried to hide it in his luggage while the duo was travelling in the jungle with a guide from the Forest Department and an environmental expert.
The guide who saw it later took steps to inform the relevant environmental organization, following which the Deniyaya Police and Wildlife Officers searched the room of the resort where the two suspects were lodging.
Police uncovered a host of animals and plants that were carefully stored including sea crabs, oysters, frog species endemic to Sri Lanka, cockroaches, beetles, endemic seeds, ants, mangroves and several other tools in their possession.
