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Tamil Nadu smugglers make a mockery in Glyphosate ban — 2,000 kilos busted
Smugglers from neighbouring Tamil Nadu are challenging Sri Lanka’s ban on the weedicide Glyphosate, undermining efforts to protect the health of local farmers.
So far this year, 2,200 kilos of the weedicide have been intercepted by the Sri Lanka Navy, but criminal elements from the southern Indian state, are continuing to defy the ban that has been in place for two years now.
Sri Lanka banned Glyphosate on June 11, 2015, under the Import and Export (Control) Act.
Glyphosate is sold under the trade name Roundup by multinational Monsanto. There are also other manufacturers who sell the chemical. The World Health Organisation has described it as likely to cause cancer. In March 2015, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer said: “The herbicide glyphosate and the insecticides malathion and diazinon were classified as probably carcinogenic to humans.’’
With more than 1,000 Indian trawlers operating in Sri Lankan waters, the Sri Lanka Navy, Immigration, and Customs have an insurmountable challenge on their hands to stop smugglers.
In December last year, a Jaffna woman arriving from Chennai, and her daughter were detected at the airport in Colombo carrying 15 kilos of glyphosate in their baggage. The weedicide was in 100 gram packets, branded ‘’D-Era’’. In the four weeks before that, Sri Lanka Customs had seized 275 kilos of glyphosate at the airport.
On the first day of this month, the navy arrested three Indians in the seas 33 nautical miles west of Kudiramalai with 1,125 kilos of ammonium salt of glyphosate, also branded “D-Era’’ made by “Dhanuka’’. The haul was found in a dhow.
In April, Sri Lanka Customs said they detected two containers loads — 160 barrels — of glyphosate imported from China.
Tamil Nadu, where heroin making operations have also emerged, is a known hot spot for deadly drug cartels. Indian newspapers highlight the operations of Tamil drug smuggling cartels involved in LSD and Ketamine in addition to large scale heroin and cannabis smuggling.
Authorities in India have have seized 115 kilos of heroin in Tamil Nadu up to June this year, the highest in the past six years. Amphetamine seizures have jumped by 25 percent from 2016. Opium is grown in India, where farmers are allowed licenses, but some of the crop is diverted to criminal hands.
The Times of India recently reported how the Tamil Nadu coastline has also become a staging post for heroin and cannabis smuggling into Southeast Asia as well.
Chennai and Coimbatore are key hubs in Tamil Nadu for the consumption and smuggling of narcotics, the paper reports.
Current affairs magazine India Today noted in May how “the region between northern Sri Lanka and Rameshwaram has been a subject of intense activities with regular arrests made by both the sides’’, citing a heroin haul and a 5 kilo gold bust.
Sri Lanka customs officials say they have no way of testing any smuggled fertiliser that is detected at entry points.
Tamil Nadu smugglers bring the prohibited agro chemicals onto Sri Lanka’s shores mainly through Kalpitiya and Mannar by sea.
Navy spokesperson, Commander, Lankanatha Dissanayake, said smugglers bring the contraband in dhows, or trawlers, passing off as fishermen. Tamil Nadu fishermen are also engaged in the criminal activity.
He said the criminal elements also smuggle the potent Kerala ganja, heroin, sandalwood and sea cucumber, an endangered species.
In June, reports show an Indian was arrested for smuggling nearly 600 kilos of sea cucumber into Sri Lanka.
Commander Dissanayake, said smugglers from Tamil Nadu are often using the northern and northwestern naval routes. Navy patrols have been able to intercept many vessels plying these routes.
Commander Dissanayake noted some vessels are specially used for smuggling illegal goods.
He said that this year alone, nearly 1,200 kilos of Kerala ganja, 30kg of heroin, 680kg of dried sea cucumber and 500kg of fresh cucumber, 1,500 conch shells, 1,500 shark fins, and 28,500 pills have been seized by the navy. Cigarettes and various tobacco based products, too have also been detected.
In the past year, the Sri Lanka Navy detected 130 kilos of heroin and cocaine and 2,140 kilos of cannabis. They arrested 19 Indians.
The police said Tamil Nadu smugglers become more active during the off season.
Smugglers moves in an out among fishing vessels and pass their goods at sea by locating their contacts using the Global Positioning System.
A policeman said that sometimes a token is also given to each vessel operator to be exchanged at sea to identify the vessel.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Vanni range, Deshabandu Tennakoon, said fishermen are tempted by the easy money.
He said small boats and multi-day fishing trawlers are involved in smuggling.
Smugglers land the goods on the coast and conceal them on the beach, he said.
Meanwhile, a Customs official said some offices have been set up to improve detection in coastal areas.
He said many of the banned agro-chemicals are also concealed in consignments of other goods brought in by sea and air.
He said many of the smuggled goods come from South India, especially Tamil Nadu.
He said that Customs is handicapped in not being able to do chemical analysis.
A senior officer of the Pesticides Registrar’s office said nearly 188 officers are conducting frequent raids to detect banned agro-chemicals.