Elephant trafficker gets 15-year jail term, fined Rs. 20 m

Saturday, 20 September 2025 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Niraj Roshan

The Colombo High Court yesterday sentenced Niraj Roshan, better known as “Ali Roshan,” to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 20.6 million after convicting him of keeping five elephants without valid permits.

Prosecutors said that between July 2009 and August 2015, in several locations including Maharagama, Arawwala, Nawala, Battaramulla, and Oruwala, Roshan and others conspired to traffic elephants and possessed animals known to have been stolen.

The Attorney General filed 33 indictments under the Code of Criminal Procedure Act and the Public Property Act in connection with the case.

Roshan was found guilty of falsifying the elephant registry of the Department of Wildlife Conservation and unlawfully holding the animals in his custody.

Three others indicted in the case, Uchitha Nishantha Dammika, Palihepitiya Gamage Jayalath, and Paskuwel Fonseka Priyanga Sanjeewani, were acquitted.