Sri Lanka Customs seize ‘liquid cocaine’ for first time
February 5, 2025 10:05 am
Sri Lanka Customs has discovered a stock of narcotics concealed within a suspicious parcel sent through a freight company in Colombo during routine screening procedures.
According to Sri Lanka Customs Media Spokesperson and Additional Director General Seevali Arukgoda, the discovery was made based on intelligence received by officers of the Narcotics Control Unit.
The parcel, which had been dispatched from the United Kingdom to an address in Kiribathgoda, was opened in the presence of the suspect. Upon inspection, officers have uncovered 65 grams of Kush cannabis and 500 milliliters of suspected ‘liquid cocaine’, carefully concealed within the package.
This marks the first recorded instance of liquid cocaine being detected by the Sri Lanka Customs.
The seized narcotics are estimated to have a street value of approximately Rs. 13 million, according to Sri Lanka Customs.
The suspect, a 23-year-old resident of Ragama who is employed in the tourism sector, is currently in custody as further investigations continue.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation, a foreign national was arrested for attempting to smuggle 1.40 kilograms of Kush cannabis out of Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.
The suspect was apprehended by officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau, who stated that the estimated street value of the seized cannabis is approximately Rs. 12.5 million.
The narcotics had been meticulously concealed within toffee and chocolate packets, which were hidden inside the suspect’s luggage in an attempt to evade detection.
The arrested individual, a 45-year-old Indian national, is a businessman operating a mobile phone shop in Chennai, India.
He had arrived at BIA from New Delhi, India, on an Indian Airlines flight at approximately 5.10 p.m. yesterday (04).
Police further revealed that the suspect has a brother residing in Colombo and that he had previously traveled to Sri Lanka multiple times under the pretext of visiting him.
The Indian national is scheduled to be presented before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court today (05), along with the seized narcotics.
The Police Narcotics Bureau has launched further investigations into the incident.
