Heroin worth Rs 100 m seized, suspect arrested

Ridma Dissanayake and Sandasen Marasinghe

The Sri Lanka Navy yesterday arrested a suspect with a parcel containing 4.2 killograms of heroin (brown sugar) worth around Rs 100 million. The suspect, a resident of the Vavuniya district, was arrested in Thalpadu, Mannar, said Navy Spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasooriya.

In addition to the heroin, Navy personnel also seized over Rs 2,000 in Indian currency and nine hand phone SIM cards from the suspect, the spokesman added.

A number of cases are pending against the suspect. Most of these cases relate to drug peddling.

"We suspect that drugs had been illegally brought to the country by trawlers and small boats. The Navy made more than five detections regarding the transporting of drugs last month," he said. "We are keeping a close eye on these drug dealers and further investigations are being carried out," the spokesman said.