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Recent drug seizure again highlights close link between foreign traffickers and local dealers
Major drug seizures over the past few weeks have again highlighted the close links between drug traffickers based overseas and dealers in the country.
After obtaining a detention order, the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) has begun questioning a 23-year-old Bangladeshi woman who was arrested last week from Ratmalana, with 32 kilograms of heroin in her possession. The heroin haul is estimated to have a street value of about Rs. 388 million. PNB sleuths arrested the suspect following a tip-off and the heroin parcels were found packed in cake boxes. Investigators said the woman, who was in the country on a tourist visa, had been transporting the heroin in the cake boxes and distributing them among local dealers. Each box contained a packet of heroin weighing about one kilo.
A senior PNB source, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, said initial investigations have revealed that the woman was not the mastermind behind the racket. “She was getting these drugs from another Bangladeshi woman. We are currently searching for her but have so far been unable to locate her. We suspect she may have left the country,” the source disclosed. The female who is evading arrest is thought to have obtained the drugs from Bangladesh through a male Bangladeshi national based there. The main traffickers were all Bangladeshi nationals, who distributed the drugs to local dealers based here, the source disclosed.
Meanwhile, the PNB believes they have effectively smashed the ring behind the second largest heroin haul ever seized in the country. The 231 kilograms of heroin with an estimated street value of Rs.2778 million was believed to have been intended for transhipment via Sri Lanka. Two suspects who were smuggling the heroin in a trawler were apprehended off Beruwela while the owner of the trawler was subsequently arrested in Yatiyantoda. The owner, identified as Dulip Samantha De Silva (44), is the brother of one of the suspects who was arrested along with the trawler. “The owner was the mastermind of the racket here. The drugs likely originated in Afghanistan and were transported via Pakistan,” the PNB source stated, adding that they were now investigating the suspect’s international links to overseas based drug smugglers.
On Thursday (20), Special Task Force (STF) personnel arrested a 32-year-old individual in Kilinochchi with 153 kilograms of Kerala Ganja with a street value of nearly Rs.23 million. The suspect also had Rs.980,700 in cash with him at the time of his arrest, police revealed. The drugs are suspected to have been smuggled in by boat from India.
Overall, this year had been yet another year of major drug busts for the police. During the period from January 1, 2018 to December 19, 2018, 463.8 kilograms of heroin had been seized. Police had arrested 39, 333 suspects during the same period for heroin possession. This is over 10, 000 arrests more than during the whole of 2017, when 29, 272 suspects were taken into custody for heroin possession, according to statistics released by Police Headquarters.
During the same time period this year, police have also seized 4358.8 kilograms of Kerala Ganja and made 52,892 arrests related to Kerala Ganja possession.
Interestingly, statistics reveal a marked increase in the seizure and arrests linked to synthetic drugs known as ‘Ice.’ In 2017, police seized just over 6 milligrams of Ice and arrested six suspects. From January 1 to December 19 this year though, 6.3 kilograms of Ice has been seized, while the number of arrests linked to the drug has jumped to 236.
The number of police raids linked to all drugs has also significantly increased as compared to last year, leading to more arrests, police noted.