Army helps police catch two suspects transporting gold plated antique statues

By Dinasena Rathugamage

The Vavuniya police, alerted by the Army intelligence operatives, nabbed two persons on Tuesday and took into custody two gold plated antique statues being transported in a three-wheeler to be sold.

 One of the statues was an animal icon of a canine while the other was a statue of the Hindu Goddess Kali with four arms, holding a hammer, a trident, a bowl and a Khadga (crescent-shaped sword or a giant sickle), police said.

 The suspects told police that they had found the two statues while excavating a site at Nelukulama in Vavuniya.  They are residents of the same area. They had planned to sell both statues for Rs 7.5 mn. The Army intelligence operatives in the area on hearing of the treasure hunters wanting to sell the valuable find alerted the police, who set up a barricade at Nelukulama and apprehended the suspects.

The icons and the suspects would be produced before Vavuniya magistrate, the police said.