2nd largest heroin haul seized in SL...
December 7, 2018
Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) arrested two persons in Beruwala-Balapitiya beach last night (05), with the second largest haul of heroin.
PNB found 231 kg 54 g of heroin, parceled in to 214 packets and hidden inside large sugar bags, in the possession of the suspects.
38 year old Dilip Prasanna and 34 year old Mohamed Farzan, residents of Beruwala were arrested in connection with the smuggling of the drugs.
The police stated that the two suspects were produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate and sought a court order to hold them for questioning.
Court granted permission to detain and interrogate the suspects for seven days.
The heroin haul is estimated to be over Rs 2778 million, said the Police Media Spokesperson.
Along with the suspects, a boat used to transport the drugs has also been apprehended.
According to the Police, this is the second largest haul of heroin found in Sri Lanka.
This has been a result of an investigation conducted by the PNB for several weeks.
According to the Police Media Spokesperson, an internal conflict within the smugglers had helped the PNB with the raid.
Police suspect that the heroin might have been packed in Pakistan as Pakistani letters had been printed on some of the sugar bags.
PNB has received assistance from the Special Task Force, Sri Lanka Navy, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), foreign intelligence and the Sri Lanka Coast Guard, on this raid.