Around 200 kilogrammes of heroin worth Rs.2 billion was seized at the Anawilundawa Bird Sanctuary in the Chilaw coastal area yesterday morning. A suspect and a Defender vehicle were also taken into Police custody, sources from the Puttalam DIG’s office said.
“This is the largest haul of heroin detected in Sri Lanka in the recent past,”Police media sources said. The heroin was packed in 198 plastic bags.
IGP Pujith Jayasundara says that the master-mind behind this heroin smuggling racket is suspected to be the same individual behind the recent Piliyandala incident where officers of the Police Narcotic Bureu came under attack.
Preliminary investigations reveal that the heroin was brought by ship from Pakistan into Sri Lankan waters and then into a multi-day vessel. The multi-day vessel had then transferred the haul of heroin to a day-fishing vessel which carried it to the Muthupanthiya beach to be handed over to the suspect, who was arrested later.
The suspect is reported to have spent the previous night at a lodge in Chilaw waiting for the heroin parcels to arrive. It is revealed that the suspect transported the heroin to Colombo from Chilaw in the same manner on several occasions.
The arrest was made by a Police team under the directions of North Central Senior DIG Ravi Wijegunawardena, Puttalama DIG Champika Siriwardena, ASP A.A. Chandrasena and Inteligence Division OIC Jayalath Sunil.
The team also included SI Edirisinghe and Aruna Shantha, Constables Wijesinghe, Piyadasa, Herath, Ratnayake, Molagoda, Deshapriya, Sri Lal and Police Constable driver Cruz.