COCAINE WORTH RS.2 BN SEIZED BY CUSTOMS
Three travelling bags packed with around 91.3 kilos of Cocaine valued at Rs.2 billion which was the largest ever detection in Sri Lanka were seized by the Customs with the assistance of the PNB at the Rank Container Terminal (RCT) Container Yard in Orugodawatte yesterday morning, the Finance Ministry said.
The Ministry Secretary Sisira Wijesinghe said the raid was carried out on a tip-off received by the Finance Ministry’s Special unit.
“The Cocaine was packed in one kilo packets and concealed in three travelling bags among the sugar sacks inside a 20-foot container,” he said.
“Officers of the Finance Ministry Special Narcotic Raid Unit in collaboration with the Special Task Force (STF) personnel carried out a search operation to identify the suspicious container since Monday afternoon. Later the officers identified the particular container at the Orugodawatta Container yard in which the contraband of Cocaine was concealed,”mr. Wijesinghe said.
Deputy Customs Director P.J.B. Basnayake said the businessman who had imported this container had been a sugar importer for some 40 years and had declared the goods in the container as a consignment of sugar.
The container had arrived in Sri Lanka from Brazil and it was checked on a tip-off received by the Finance Ministry’s Special unit, he said.
Three people including the businessman and two wharf clerks had been arrested. The cocaine will be handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau.
Meanwhile, President Maithripala Sirisena visited the Orugodawatte RCT container terminal and inspected the Cocaine seized by Custom officials.
While thanking the officials of the Customs and the Special Task Force for the detection, the President assured that stern action would be taken against those engaged in drug smuggling.
Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the Customs would continue to carry out raids showing the Government’s commitment to fight the drug menace.
Meanwhile, Special Investigative Unit Chief Ravi Jayasingha said the cocaine haul was the largest ever detection of cocaine to be made in Sri Lanka.
The investigations were carried out by the commandant of STF and DIG Ranjith Perera, head of the Finance Ministry’s Special Unit, Wing Commander Ravi Jayasinghe, Customs Deputy Director Lalitha Weerasinghe and several other officials.