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SL’s largest heroin haul of 250kg from Pakistan police tip-off
Information provided by Pakistan’s Police Narcotics Division (PNDP) led to the detection of this country’s single largest heroin haul of 250 kg on Friday, and the arrests of the main suspects, Customs investigations revealed yesterday. Customs Revenue Task Force (CRTF) Director Mali Piyasena said the container used to ship the drug into the country arrived on June 6, and later shifted to the Customs Yard, Urugodawatte, when the consignee failed to show up despite several reminders.
The heroin haul at the Customs Yard in Urugodawatte. Pic by Mangala Weerasekera
“The PNDP had alerted Colombo of a possible heroin shipment heading for Colombo, but fell short of giving precise details. Hence the delay in the detection,” Mr Piyasena said.
He added that the four suspects arrested in this connection, included a Pakistani national described as the shipper, and three locals including the consignee- a businessman residing in Dematagoda.
Investigators are also sifting through clues which indicate that the Dematagoda businessman is a close relative of another drug lord presently serving time at the Welikada jail.
“However, this is yet to be confirmed,” Mr Piyasena added. He said the heroin, with a street value of Rs 2.5 billion, was cleverly concealed in hundreds of grease cans found inside the 40-footcontainer, along with bathroom fittings, and it had been shipped from Karachi.
The Pakistani national had arrived in the country to collect his dues, and along with the other three suspects, had proceeded to the Customs Yard to clear the container.
The drug was detected when the Pakistani national had attempted to open a ‘can of grease’ for inspection in the presence of the Customs officials. ‘It was then that a packet of the drug had emerged,” Mr Piyasena added.
Initial investigations reveal that this shipment was the suspects’ maiden run and they had not been involved previously.
Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) officials told the Sunday Times that while 100 kg was for domestic use, the rest was to be re-shipped to Canada, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
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