(COLOMBO) – Four persons were taken into custody on Thursday for operating a drone close to a wild elephant who is recuperating from gunshot wounds at a location in eastern Sri Lankan, the police and Air Force said on Friday.
They said the group was taken into custody after the police were alerted by the Air Force on an unauthorized drone movement in the area.
The wounded wild elephant affectionately known as ‘Agbo’ was treated by wild life officials for several months after he had been shot up by farmers.
The elephant was turned into the wild but has opted to stay close to the local villagers drawing a lot of attention.
“Drones could operate in the island-nation only with the prior approval of the defence and aviation authorities and not otherwise”, Sri Lanka Air Force Spokesman Group Captain Dashan Wijeysinghe said.
He added that airborne drones are instantly picked up by Air Force radar and the local police are subsequently informed as it was in the most recent case.
‘One just cannot operate a drone for whatever purpose without prior permission. This is the standard procedure”, Wijeysinghe said.
It was only the other day earlier this week that a drunken village youth was critically injured when he attempted to hitch a ride on to the same elephant.
The irate jumbo had kicked the youth after it had pulled its tail as horrified villagers looks on.
