A free fertilizer sale involving 348 government-supplied bags worth over Rs. 2.8 million has led to arrests in Divulapitiya. Eight suspects, including an officer from the Coconut Development Board, have been arrested over a free fertilizer sale involving 348 bags meant for farmers.
Eight suspects, including a Coconut Development Officer, have been arrested over the alleged secret sale of 348 fertilizer bags intended for free distribution among Sri Lankan farmers.
Divulapitiya Police reportedly uncovered the stock during a raid on a fertilizer packaging centre along Badalgama Road in Marandagahamula on July 9. Officers launched the operation after receiving confidential information about fertilizer stored at the premises.
Each bag weighed 50 kilograms. Therefore, the seized stock amounted to 17,400 kilograms, or 17.4 metric tonnes, of fertilizer. Police valued the entire consignment at Rs. 2,784,000, equivalent to approximately Rs. 8,000 per bag.
Storekeeper’s Questioning Leads Police to Suspects
Police initially arrested the storekeeper responsible for the packaging centre. Investigators reportedly questioned him and obtained information that led them to seven other suspects allegedly connected to the transaction.
The group included a Coconut Development Officer accused of assisting with the sale. The arrested suspects are residents of Kurunegala, Giriulla and Mirigama.
According to investigators, the government had imported the fertilizer through foreign assistance. Authorities had strictly reserved it for free distribution among farmers.
However, investigators believe the stock was diverted and secretly sold to the Marandagahamula packaging centre with the storekeeper’s assistance.
Questions Over Free Fertilizer Distribution
The discovery raises questions about how 348 bags of government-controlled fertilizer moved through the distribution system without reaching their intended recipients.
Police have not announced whether they seized money, vehicles, delivery documents or other evidence during the raid. It also remains unclear how much the suspects allegedly received for the stock or whether additional officials and private buyers are under investigation.
The arrests come amid wider efforts to distribute fertilizer to coconut growers across Sri Lanka. In April, Coconut Cultivation Board Chairman Dr. Sunimal Jayakody said the country had received 27,500 metric tonnes of coconut fertilizer with assistance from the Russian government. He said officials would distribute it to growers with the Coconut Development Board’s support.
However, authorities have not confirmed that the fertilizer seized in Marandagahamula formed part of that Russian-assisted consignment. The two developments should therefore not be directly connected without further official evidence.
Divulapitiya Police are continuing investigations to determine how the fertilizer was diverted, identify everyone involved and establish whether the alleged operation extended beyond the eight suspects already in custody.
