In a landmark ruling against wildlife crime, the High Court today sentenced Niraj Roshan, better known as ‘Ali Roshan,’ to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine of Rs. 20.6 million for illegally possessing five elephants without valid permits.
The bench found Roshan guilty of tampering with the official elephant registry maintained by the Department of Wildlife Conservation and unlawfully keeping the animals in his custody.
Three other defendants—Uchitha Nishantha Dammika, Palihepitiya Gamage Jayalath, and Paskuwel Fonseka Priyanga Sanjeewani—were acquitted and released.
According to the prosecution, between July 2009 and August 2015, in locations including Maharagama, Arawwala, Nawala, Battaramulla, and Oruwala, Roshan conspired with unidentified individuals to traffic elephants, engage in illegal transfers, and knowingly keep animals that had been stolen.
The Attorney General’s Department filed 33 indictments under the Code of Criminal Procedure Act and the Public Property Act, leading to one of Sri Lanka’s most high-profile convictions related to elephant trafficking.
