A stock of heroin weighing about 300 kilograms with a street value of around Rs. 3.1 billion was detected by the Sri Lanka Navy in a foreign vessel in the deep seas off the country’s Southern coast yesterday, a senior Naval official said.
A seven-member crew who claimed to be Pakistan nationals was also arrested along with a multi-day fishing vessel used to transport the heroin from a foreign port, he said.
The detection comes following three weeks of surveillance and information sharing between the Navy and other state intelligence agencies, the official said.
The heroin was in 300 packets and cleverly concealed in the boat.
Investigators are probing to ascertain the local contacts of the group and whether they were part of a large drug cartel operating in international waters.
Yesterday’s detection comes barely four days after the Navy arrested five people along with 290 kilograms of heroin in the seas off the country’s South-Western coast and which had a street value of about Rs. 3.1 billion.
Investigators are also probing to find out if those arrested yesterday were connected to those arrested earlier. The suspects arrested on August 30 were identified as Sri Lankans and residents of the deep South.