The Army, which eradicated terrorism in the country, is now in task to combat drug trafficking. The army initiated a special programs to combat narcotics in Sri Lanka during the last year and was able to seize 981 suspects island-wide.
Accordingly, the Army could apprehend more than 715 kilos of Kerala Cannabis, 685 Kilos of local Cannabis, 1 kilo of Heroin, and 13 kilos of Crystal Methamphetamine(ICE) during random snap search operations conducted by the soldiers in the battalion levels belonged to Island wide Security Forces Headquarters. In addition to that, a considerable amount of Kush and Hashish drugs have also been seized along with 831 suspects. Furthermore, 28000 liters of illegally produced liquor and 57 bottles of foreign liquor along with 89 suspects have been arrested. Moreover, illegal cigarettes (12 packets / 8653 cigarettes / 15 cartons), drug tablets (10 cards/ 75181 tablets), 155 ‘Madana Modaka’ along with 61 suspects have also been arrested.
In the meantime, the Dangerous Drug Ordinance will be used by the police Narcotic Bureau to take legal action. Due to the existence of a drug trafficking network in Sri Lanka, the following amounts of illegally apprehended drugs can be recovered for larger amounts with the assistance of joint operations conducted in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Police and the Special Task Force.
By Manohari Katugampala