News / Police search for 'missing' X-Press Pearl agent

Following the arrest and subsequent release of the captain of the X-Press Pearl, Sri Lanka’s Attorney General yesterday advised police to also arrest the carrier’s agent in the country.

According to local press reports, Sri Lankan detectives visited the Sea Consortium Lanka offices, X-Press Feeders’ agency office in Colombo, and the home address of the agency’s MD and chairman, Arjuna Hettiarachchi, who is required to make a statement to the CID but failed to do so and has not been found.

“Detectives have also recorded statements from medical examiners who conducted the autopsy on dead sea turtles and dolphins that washed up on Sri Lankan shores over the past three weeks,” according to Sri Lanka’s News First website. A police spokesperson said the death of the marine life would be investigated further when the results of the laboratory tests were available.