The Police Western Province North Crimes Division arrested eight suspects along with over 300 kilograms of narcotic substances that were being transported by land earlier this morning (12), following a special operation carried out on the Andagalawella Beach in Kirinda.
It is reported that the Director of the Western Province North Crimes Division, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rohan Olugala, had received credible information that a large consignment of drugs was being transported to the Tissamaharama area by sea.
The information was then conveyed to the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) of the Southern Province, Kithsiri Jayalath.
Accordingly, officers from the the Western Province North Crimes Division, together with a police team from the Southern Province, launched a special operation on the Andagalawella Beach in Kirinda this morning.
Investigations have revealed that a stock of narcotic substances transported across the deep sea by a multi-day fishing vessel had been transferred to a smaller boat.
The consignment of drugs brought close to the shore from the small boat had been left floating in the sea with the help of a rope, and seven suspects who had arrived to retrieve the stock of narcotics were arrested by the police officers.
A total of 19 sacks containing narcotic substances, which were discovered floating in the nearby sea area, were brought ashore and later taken to the Kirinda Police Station.
The stock of narcotics, weighing approximately 345 kilograms, is suspected to be heroin, police said.
The arrested suspects were brought to the Kirinda Police Station, while another suspect connected to the incident was later apprehended, according to police.
Six vehicles suspected to have been used in the drug trafficking operation were also seized and taken into police custody, police further stated.
Meanwhile, a local resident stated that drug trafficking has been taking place along the relevant stretch of beach area over a long period of time, Ada Derana reporter said.
