A police constable attached to the Sapugaskanda Police has been arrested by the Intelligence Unit Special Task Force (STF) for the possession of heroin.

The arrest has been made yesterday (March 22) in front of the main gate of the National Hospital For Respiratory Diseases (NHRD) in Welisara.

The 35-year-old police constable, stationed at the NHRD police post on special duty, had been arrested while in possession of 107 g 290 mg of heroin intended to be passed on to another individual.

Upon arrest, the STF officials had also carried out a search in the arrested police officer’s residence in Mulleriyawa where they had found an additional 286 g 40 mg of heroin.

In addition to the stash of drugs, the officials have also taken a motorbike with a number plate suspected to be fake, Rs 10,220 in cash, a three-wheeler, and an unfilled curfew pass found at the residence into custody.

It has been revealed that the officer in question had been connected to the drug racket of the large-scale drug racketeer and major crime gang figure Rasika Ruwan Kumara Wijethunga alias ‘Navy Ruwan’.

The arrested constable had reportedly assisted in concealment, transportation, and security for the transportation of drugs.

The suspect, the drugs, and the other items seized by the STF have been handed over to the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) for onward investigations.