Trafficking of dead chicken meat after the flood: Health raid in Pallama

After the floods, suspicions grew about the fate of farm animals. Health inspectors discovered illegal trafficking of chicken meat from animal carcasses: 120 kilos of meat destined for restaurants and canteens in various locations in the Puttalam district were seized.

Colombo (AsiaNews) - After the recent floods in Sri Lanka, anxiety grew among the affected communities about the fate of farm animals - chickens, pigs, goats and cattle - which are an essential source of livelihood for many families.

The lack of official information about what happened was compounded by increasingly insistent rumours about the possible sale of meat from animals that had died in the floods.

These suspicions were confirmed by the discovery of illegal chicken meat trafficking in the Pallama area of Puttalam district, which was dismantled following an operation conducted by Public Health Inspectors (PHI).

During the raid, two people were arrested and a large quantity of meat, some of which had already been distributed in various locations, was seized. According to investigators, the suspects collected chickens that had died from disease from farms in Pallama and the surrounding areas, falsely claiming that they would be used for animal feed.

However, investigations have established that the meat was processed and packaged in plastic bags to evade health checks, then sold at very low prices to restaurants, charitable canteens and wedding banquet organisers in numerous locations, including Anamaduwa, Nawagattegama, Saliyawewa, Uriyawa, Paliyagama, Bingiriya, Weerapokuna, Madurankuliya and Arachchikattuwa.

The operation was the result of a lengthy investigation launched on the basis of reports received from health inspectors in Pallama. The suspects were stopped while transporting the meat in a three-wheeled vehicle near the Serukele Veterinary Office, where approximately 120 kilograms of meat hidden in polyethylene bags were seized.

The arrested individuals were identified as Geekiyanage Janaka Geeth Kumar Perera, a resident of Dudugama (Ja-Ela), responsible for collecting and transporting chickens from farms, and Yakdehige Jagath Indika Niroshan, from Serukele, involved in meat processing.

According to health authorities, the meat was sold mainly to restaurants that prepare kottu and rice dishes, at a price of 800 rupees per kilogram, significantly below market value. The trafficking had been going on for some time, deliberately deceiving buyers.

The two suspects appeared before the Anamaduwa Magistrates' Court, where Judge R.N.K. Chandrawansa imposed a fine of 76,000 rupees and ordered the destruction of the entire stock of seized meat.

Some residents who lost their livestock to the floods expressed their disappointment to AsiaNews at the leniency of the sentence, while stating that they respected the court's decision.

‘Selling dead animals for profit is an inhumane act,’ they said. Among them, Rita Calistus, a resident of Arachchikattuwa, said she lost all 25 chickens from her family farm: ‘About twenty drowned, the others died a few days after the water receded. We buried them.’

Photo: Hiran Piyankara