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Navy steps up ops to check narcotics smuggling
View(s):Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel attached to the Northern Command seized at least 150 kg of Kerala Cannabis (KC) this week alone, in a series of raids conducted in the region.
On Friday night, a haul of 130 kg of KC was seized in two separate incidents by the SLN. Following a tip-off, three locals in Manalkadu, Kilinochchi, were arrested when they came ashore with 101 kg of KC on-board their fishing vessel.
In a separate incident in Uduthurai, two persons were arrested with 30 kg of KC in their possession. Preliminary investigations revealed that, the Colombo bound KC was to be handed over to middlemen for onward transport to the South.
The Excise Dept assessed the market value of the drug at Rs. 26 million, while officials have yet to produce the suspects before the Point Pedro courts.
According to the SLN, more than 1,000 kg of KC has been seized through raids in the Northern Province.
“Since we noticed an increase in the smuggling of KC from India, in the recent past, we have been coordinating with other security agencies to effectively control such activities,” SLN Spokesman, Captain Akram Alavi told the Sunday Times.
He said that, with the Government policy of eradicating the drug menace in the country under way, the SLN is working closely with the Special Task Force (STF), police and other security agencies, to tackle this menace completely.
“Our round-the-clock sea patrols and the intelligence units on land exercise utmost vigilance in combating narcotics smuggling by sea, and we are determined to stop them,” he said.