News
Massive drugs pile set for incinerator
Nearly a tonne of narcotics worth Rs 16.7 billion seized over the past three years, is set to be incinerated.
The Special Task Force said 928 kilograms of illegal drugs will be destroyed next month.
A senior STF official said approval is being sought from the Attorney General’s Department. Related cases have been completed.
The Sunday Times learns that there are talks to incinerate the drugs in the kilns of the Holcim cement factory in Puttalam.
The official said the drugs can only be destroyed at a temperature of 1,500 degrees centigrade.
The drugs include 872 kilograms of heroin, 1,595 kilograms of cocaine and 1,812 kilograms of cannabis held at the government analyst as of August 25, 2017.
The destruction to be done under the Poisons, Drugs and Dangerous Drug Ordinance will take place in the presence of the Attorney General, the Government Analyst and the police. The media will also be invited.
The official said that in future, narcotics will be disposed of periodically, depending on the amount that gets collected in the storage spaces of court houses.
Presidential Task Force on Narcotics, director, Dr. Samantha Kithalawelaarchchi said that cases related to possession of illegal drugs could go on for 10 years.
He said that although the drugs are kept under high security, there is no inventory.
According to the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board, there are 45,000 heroin and 200,00 cannabis users in the country.
Board data show that last year, 79,378 addicts have been identified and that most came from low income families and were between 20 and 35 years. The figure included 35% heroin and 60% cannabis users. Also, 60% came from the Western Province with Colombo contributing 43%, Gampaha 13% and Kurunegala 4%.
Among the provinces, the next highest contributor is the central province which has 10% of the addicts and 9% in Southern Province.
The amount of heroin seized last year was 206 kilograms, 963 grams, and 758 milligrams from 27,356 court cases countrywide.
The number of cannabis related arrests in the same year was 47,787 with 4,174,507 kilograms seized. Of this 51% was from the Western Province.