Dealing a death blow to drug menace, say police
As the controversy-ridden “Yukthiya” (Justice) operation reaches 50 days, Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon talks about breakthroughs within and without the country
Investigators have identified five key drug traffickers based in Europe, believed to be the masterminds behind largescale narcotics smuggling into Sri Lanka, Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon told the Sunday Times.
The suspects, all born in Sri Lanka, are now operating from a number of European countries, including France and Italy, the Acting IGP said. While most drug kingpins were earlier believed to operate from West Asian countries, he said police have reason to believe these five “key players” are responsible for much of the narcotics distribution in the country through their networks in West Asia and elsewhere.
The traffickers use a variety of methods to smuggle narcotics via sea from West Asia and other regional countries. Main among these is the use of mid-sea transfers from foreign vessels to local multiday fishing trawlers, which then transfer the cargo to smaller boats and dinghies when they get closer to shore. Mr. Tennakoon declined to name the alleged five Europe-based traffickers but claimed that an ongoing operation is on to track them down, have them arrested through Interpol, and have them extradited to Sri Lanka.
The traffickers were identified during an intelligence operation conducted as part of the ongoing island-wide “Yukthiya” (Justice) operation, according to Mr. Tennakoon. The intelligence operation commenced before Yukthiya, involving multiple agencies such as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), and the State Intelligence Service (SIS). He claimed the drug distribution networks run by the traffickers were so vast that drugs could reach all 14, 022 Grama Niladhari Divisions in the country. Investigators analysed data from both the PNB and SIS to try and trace the networks. “We identified 4200 agents who were in charge of distributing the drugs at Grama Niladhari Division levels. We have been focused since the start of the Yukthiya operation to disrupt and break up these distribution networks,” he said.
The Acting IGP acknowledged public criticism that police had not been able to effectively tackle the drug menace. “The first incident where heroin was detected in Sri Lanka occurred in 1982, when police arrested a local tourist guide in Katunayaka with heroin. Over the past 40 years, police have been carrying out anti-narcotics raids islandwide but have not been successful in eradicating the drug menace. On the contrary, the drug problem has actually increased over the past four decades. One main reason for this is that we were never able to conclusively identify who were the main traffickers that were smuggling drugs into the country on a large scale," the Acting IGP said.
He said investigators had gathered enough information to identify the five key overseas-based traffickers currently responsible for large-scale drug trafficking into Sri Lanka.
While identifying these overseasbased drug traffickers was one thing, having them arrested in foreign jurisdictions and obtaining their extradition to Sri Lanka was a different matter. There have been occasions in the past where foreign courts have ruled against extraditing arrested suspects to Sri Lanka. Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, though, said the government would negotiate with its counterparts in countries where the traffickers are based with the aim of securing their arrests through Interpol and then work on having them extradited. He pointed out that last year, Sri Lanka was able to secure the extradition of alleged underworld figures Nadun Chinthaka Wickramaratne, alias “Harak Kata,” and his accomplice Salindu Malshika, alias “Kudu Salindu” from Madagascar. Therefore, it is not an impossible task, insisted the minister.
The seizure of both local and foreign fishing vessels containing heroin and other drugs has given rise to fears that Sri Lanka has also become a transshipment hub for drugs destined elsewhere. Police sources, though, claimed that the vast majority of the drugs seizedw recently were destined for Sri Lanka.
Weapons, including T56 assault rifles, pistols, and ammunition, have also been found, along with some drug consignments seized at sea. Many of the weapons are believed to be “gifts” that the drug traffickers send periodically to their local dealers. “Drug trafficking goes hand-in-hand with underworld activities. Traffickers are encouraging these underworld groups to continue with the drug trade. The weapons allow them to eliminate rivals and also carry out other crimes such as armed robberies,” said a senior police source.
A significant portion of the heroin smuggled into the country comes from the so-called “Golden Triangle” region in Southeast Asia, which comprises parts of Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. Heroin is also smuggled to Sri Lanka from Afghanistan via sea routes from Pakistan and Iran. Narcotics-laden vessels follow the method of transferring their cargo mid-sea to local fishing boats to smuggle ashore. Authorities are on the lookout for narcotics-smuggling vessels from these regions and are trying to determine who is sending them. That is the start of the supply chain.
While cannabis and heroin continue to be the largest quantities of drugs that are being seized, research by institutions such as the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) shows that there has been a significant increase in the possession and usage of crystal methamphetamine, also known as ‘Ice.’ Several multi-day fishing trawlers that have been seized by the Sri Lanka Navy in the seas off Sri Lanka in recent times were found to contain large stocks of methamphetamines in addition to heroin.
Police also say that the price of a packet of heroin has gone up by as much as 450% in some areas owing to the shortage of the drug due to raids and the arrest of street-level dealers since the start of the Yukthiya operation. Officers have observed that narcotic pills are being distributed as an alternative given the heroin shortage, said a senior officer involved in the operation. “We are finding more of these pills now in our raids. The pills also carry less severe penalties than heroin,” he added.
Acting IGP Tennakoon, meanwhile, dismissed allegations that police were only going after “small fry” and not “big fish” when it came to drug trafficking. “Those arrested during this operation include both high-level and low-level drug traffickers. Among the arrested are those who sold heroin packets weighing 20 milligrams, as well as others who were responsible for trafficking kilograms of the drug.”
He noted that law enforcement authorities were also using the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to take action against suspected drug traffickers. Various properties, including lands, luxury houses, hotels, apartments, and vehicles amounting to millions of rupees, have already been seized during the course of the Yukthiya operation. The assets are suspected of having been acquired illegally using money from drug trafficking. The suspected traffickers have purchased these assets under the names of their relatives and friends. The people under whose names the properties were purchased will now have to explain to authorities how they acquired the wealth to purchase the assets.
The traffickers live luxurious lives, the Acting IGP said. Many of their children are studying abroad. None of them are drug addicts. “Yet, their luxury lifestyles are fuelled by the misery of those who have become addicted to the drugs they sell.”
With the Yukthiya operation having now completed 50 days, Mr. Tennakoon is upbeat regarding its progress. He, however, conceded that when police take a drug dealer into custody, traffickers are able to quickly find “replacements” to take their place. “This is because this racket is a lucrative one. There are always those willing to take the risk of stepping into the shoes of another."
On Friday (9), police announced that a list of 296 newly identified drug traffickers and 53 identified as associates of traffickers arrested under the operation had been given to all Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs). The SSPs had been issued a separate list at the start of the Yukthiya operation, containing the names of 44,794 suspects wanted in connection with narcotics and non-narcotics-related crimes. Police said on Friday that 7494 of them have already been arrested.
At the start of the Yukthiya operation, Minister Alles said he hoped to make a “big difference” by June 30 this year and told the Sunday Times that this was being achieved. He insisted the operation had widespread public support. “Every time I go to a village, people come up to me and tell me that the operation has made a difference and appeal to me to continue with it,” he said.