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Authorities sniff victory in war against drug mafia
View(s):- Say close coordination and intel sharing among local and foreign agencies yield results
By Sandun Jayawardana
Better intelligence sharing and coordination among local and foreign agencies have helped law enforcement authorities to gain the upper hand in recent times against narcotics smugglers and traffickers, claim agencies involved in drug busts.
Given that most of the narcotics that come to the country are smuggled via sea routes, timely intelligence sharing and close coordination between multiple state agencies are vital to thwarting efforts by narcotics traffickers.
Such cooperation between different agencies including the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), Sri Lanka Police, Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and the Police Special Task Force (STF) has played a major role in many large scale drug busts conducted in recent times. Their efforts are being supported by foreign agencies which have increasingly contributed intelligence related to international narcotics trafficking operations targeting the country, the detectives said.
Last year, authorities seized 1,645 kilograms of heroin and 7,085 kilograms of cannabis. Heroin and cannabis still make up the largest share of narcotics seized in the country. A significant quantity of methamphetamine — commonly known as ‘Ice’ — has also been seized over the past few years. Last year alone, 237 kilograms of methamphetamines was seized.
Of the heroin stocks seized last year, joint operations between the PNB and the Navy resulted in the seizure of 1,633 kilograms of heroin in six separate instances, leading to the arrest of 52 suspects, according to Police. Statistics released by the Navy also reveal that 21 local fishing vessels with 336 suspects and three foreign fishing vessels with 21 foreign suspects were taken into custody last year and produced for onward legal action.
The last major drug bust on the high seas occurred in January this year. During that incident, the Navy intercepted a local multi-day fishing trawler off the coast of Beruwala on January 5 and seized 22 packages of heroin weighing more than 23 kilograms. Five suspects were taken into custody. Based on the information the suspects provided during interrogation, two further local multi-day fishing trawlers suspected of having smuggled narcotics were taken into custody along with 10 suspects on January 7 and 8.
The Navy claimed that upon interrogation, the suspects admitted that they had thrown stocks of drugs overboard when they saw naval vessels approaching. The suspects also revealed that drug traffickers have developed a new strategy in which they remove inside components of the multi-day fishing trawlers’ Radar Domes and conceal drugs within them, according to the Navy.
Things have been rather quiet with regard to large-scale narcotics trafficking activities since January, but the Navy and other agencies are still on high alert, said the Navy’s media spokesman Indika De Silva.
Weather conditions in seas off the island have not been bad either. As such, Capt. De Silva said the weather has not been a factor in the apparent reduction in attempts to smuggle narcotics into the country.
“We caught so many boats last year thanks to excellent close cooperation between the Navy, the PNB and other agencies. We know that local multi-day fishing trawlers are recruited to bring in narcotic stocks which are unloaded from foreign vessels in international waters. Maybe the sheer number of detections has made some boat operators think twice about accepting money to smuggle in drugs,” the spokesman said.
With the south-western monsoon due in May, there is every chance that traffickers will look to land more stocks of narcotics in the country before the weather turns the seas rough. “We are ready for them,” Capt. De Silva said.
In recent cases, investigators say heroin has come from Afghanistan via Pakistan and Iran. While some stocks are destined for Sri Lanka, a far larger amount is smuggled to other countries via Sri Lanka’s sea routes. Colombo, Gampaha, Negombo and Kandy have been identified by the authorities as the main heroin distribution hubs while several northern areas have been identified as the main centres through which cannabis known as ‘Kerala Ganja’ is smuggled into the country from India. Recently, law enforcement authorities also achieved a major victory by managing to secure the arrest and extradition of two alleged notorious underworld criminals and drug kingpins, Nadun Chinthaka Wickramaratne alias “Harak Kata” and Salindu Malshika Gunaratne alias “Kudu Salindu.” The duo were among eight suspects who were arrested in Madagascar following an Interpol ‘Red Notice’ obtained by the Sri Lankan authorities. They are being interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under a 90-day detention order. Police are remaining tightlipped about details pertaining to the investigation into the duo’s alleged criminal activities.
While heroin and cannabis remain the major drugs of concern for the authorities given how they are available in large quantities, the number of seizures related to methamphetamines has also gone up significantly. A total of 22,389 suspects were arrested for methamphetamine possession last year, while the seized drugs amounted to 238 kilograms. This is far higher than the 13,720 suspects arrested for possessing “Ice” in 2021. Statistics released by the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) in 2020 note that in addition to heroin, there has been an upward trend of methamphetamine-related arrests since 2020.
Heroin and cannabis still make up the largest share of narcotics seized in the country
Methamphetamine or “Ice” was first smuggled into Sri Lanka by air. As demand for the synthetic drugs grew, larger amounts began to be smuggled in by sea, said a senior PNB official.
Indeed, there are indications that traffickers are trying to smuggle large quantities of methamphetamine via sea. In December last year, a joint Navy-SIS-PNB operation resulted in the seizure of two multi-day fishing trawlers off the coast of Devundara with 128 kilograms of “Ice” and 106 kilograms of heroin.
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