As drug probe deepens,
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Sri Lanka's largest drug bust is causing uncertainties over the future of Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne, and in a sense, the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The latest call for his resignation has come from hardline members of the Buddhist clergy Sihala Ravaya. On Thursday, they laid a five-hour siege on Premier Jayaratne's Office on Ernest de Silva Mawatha (former Flower Road). They demanded that he resign from the post of Minister for Buddha Sasana.
Ven. Akmeemana Dayaratne Thera, President of the organisation, told the Sunday Times, " Though our protest drew an apology through one of Premier Jayaratne's officials, we are not satisfied. If the President made a derogatory comment about one of the leading Buddhist monks in the country, even he should apologise personally. If such an apology does not come in the next few days, we will continue our protests."
The threat was despite a second letter signed by Premier Jayaratne and delivered to Ven. Dayaratane who was with some 75 members of the Buddhist clergy taking part in the protest. The letter said, "Prime Minister and Minister of Buddha Sasana Affairs D.M. Jayaratna addressing a meeting in Gampola on January 1, 2014 had no intention of causing disrespect to the most venerable monks by using the word 'Cheevaradhariya' (persons with robes). If the most venerable monks feel that some disrespect has been caused, the Prime Minister wishes to express his deep regrets."
It is alleged that the remarks were used derogatorily at Venerable Omalpe Sobitha Thera, leader of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU). The head of a party which is a partner of the UPFA Government called for the resignation of Premier Jayaratne. This is after it transpired that his office facilitated the clearance of a container which carried the largest heroin haul to be brought into Sri Lanka.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) also has called for the Prime Minister's resignation. Its parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake told the Sunday Times, "The Government should hold a full inquiry into allegations that the Prime Minister's coordinating secretary issued a letter to clear a consignment which was later found to be carrying drugs. We see that his remaining in office is a hindrance to an impartial and proper inquiry. He should temporarily resign until the inquiries are over."
However, at least officially, investigations into Sri Lankan history's biggest detection of heroin have not extended to the Prime Minister. Firstly, he is not under any Police investigation. Secondly, and most importantly, the buck has stopped with his son, Central Provincial Council member Anuruddha Jayaratne, who is also his private secretary. The son has told detectives of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) that it was he who introduced Jamal Qasim, a Pakistani national (now in custody) to Keerthi Sri Weerasinghe, Premier Jayaratne's coordinating secretary. He has also claimed in a statement that he asked Keerthi Sri Weerasinghe to issue a letter seeking concessionary demurrage rates for a specific container imported into Sri Lanka. It was the one that contained the drugs. That was when Jamal and Sri Lankan partner Mohamed Kamil turned up at the Jayaratne residence in Gampola for breakfast one morning in August last year. Kamil and his driver Rilwan are also now in remand custody.
According to Anuruddha Jayaratne, Jamal and Kamil came to their residence for the first time. They were brought there by Tharanga Vittachchi, a ruling UPFA member of the Gampola Urban Council. Tharanga has told the Narcotics detectives that he developed a friendship with Jamal after he met him in Bahrain four years ago. Whilst at breakfast, Jamal had used his smart phone to video and take still pictures of the breakfast meeting. Kamil used the same phone to video and photograph Jamal with Premier Jayaratne and his son. Under arrest, he was to swipe his mobile phone panel time and again to show PNB detectives the high company he kept and to assert that he was above board.
However, some startling revelations came to light later inside a remand block at the Welikada Prison. Two sleuths from Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), a bureau of the Government, interviewed Jamal for eight hours. An Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) from the PNB was also present. They confirmed that Jamal had two previous convictions in Pakistan as a drug trafficker. The last sentence he served was four years in jail. It has come to light that another Pakistani national, though not present in Sri Lanka when the heroin detection was made, is also involved. The Pakistani ANF team is to question him when they return home. Even more shocking is the finding that the real king pin behind what is suspected to be an 'international drug ring,' linking several countries including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, is still at large and his identity unknown. The Pakistan ANF officers left Colombo to unravel the network in their country but left behind a stirring cloud of dust that shrouded many issues.
Most important among them is the fact that any crook, drug dealer or criminal could inveigle their way into the residence of a dignitary who is constitutionally second in command of the country's leadership. That is bad enough. If he is to be believed, this dignitary's son directs his father's coordinating secretary to issue a letter without so much as checking the antecedents of the persons involved. And that letter says, " would be much thankful to
that if you could take appropriate action to grant a waiver of duty and concession of SAGT charges on the above container which has been imported by Rohaan Impex at No T-30, Maligawatte, Railway Quarters, Colombo 10. "According to Mr Kamil the proprietor of Rohaan Impex for not having them a proper knowledge of import procedures as this is the first container they have imported to Sri Lanka and they are at the starting point of their business. Also, I wish to bring to kind notice that they are not in a position to bear the amount of higher duty and other charges."
The letter addressed to the Manager of South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT), it has now come to light, led to a 15 per cent discount being granted on demurrage charges. This is money that was deprived to the Treasury of Sri Lanka. And that is for the container said to contain synthetic grease but was later found to include 261 Kgs of heroin. This is the largest quantity of heroin in a single consignment ever detected in Sri Lanka. PNB officers linked to the investigation tried to deliberately downplay the detection by claiming that the street value "was around Rs. 6.5 million." Whether this is the result of political pressure is not clear. However, narcotic experts at the Customs say this carries a street value of a staggering Rs. 2.4 billion, Leslie Gamini, Director Legal Affairs and Spokesperson of the Customs told the Sunday Times. The Customs is more conversant with cross border smuggling of narcotics and prevailing street value in view of their liaison with counterparts in other countries.
Quite clearly Anuruddha Jayaratne has usurped his father's authority as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in directing the issue of that letter. On the other hand, if not legal, it is the moral responsibility of the incumbent of that high office to have discerned whether any visitor, no matter what their credentials are, should enjoy all the courtesies -- and the authority of the Office of the Prime Minister. If indeed convicted drug traffickers have abused such courtesies, whose responsibility is it? Can coordinating secretary Keerthi Sri Weerasinghe, a former SLFP organiser for Ampara, or Central Provincial Councillor Anuruddha Jayaratne absolve themselves by simply saying they "take the responsibility?" Detailed investigations into these aspects have not taken place. As is clear from its name, the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) conducts probes into issues related to narcotic substances. Thus, a detailed probe, among other aspects, into whether the drug runner spent for Anruddha Jayaratne's political campaign for public office as a member of the Central Provincial Council during the recent elections remains a key question. Readers will recall that Anuruddha Jayaratne topped the ruling UPFA list and made a claim for the Chief Ministership of the Central Province.
The sequence of events leading to the detection has received wide exposure. However, some aspects are not yet known. To place matters in context, here is a brief account. As far back as March 2012, Police Chief N.K. Illangakoon had been briefed by Senior Superintendent Kamal Silva, Director of the Police Narcotics Bureau, that a container carrying 250 to 300 kilogrammes of heroin was to be smuggled into Sri Lanka. They had been tipped off. The Police Chief had ordered the PNB to exercise greater vigilance. They mounted surveillance on suspected targets. Two months later, an Inspector attached to the Special Branch (the intelligence arm of the Police which functions under the IGP) tipped off the PNB about the suspicious activities of two Muslims who were posing off as businessmen. They were staying in a not so rosy Maradana hotel which carries the name of a French perfume. The SB officer had said the duo had links with suspected drug dealers in Pakistan. They had been planning to import 'grease.'
A team led by Inspector Neomal Ratnajeeva was assigned the task of a detailed probe. The team observed the Sri Lankan duo meeting up with Jamil and another Pakistani national. The latter was later identified as Sardar Ahmed Khan. The PNB moved court and obtained a warrant for his arrest. Based on that, the Interpol Headquarters in Lyons, France, issued a red notice on him. Such notices stipulate that the persons concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions for prosecution or to serve a sentence based on an arrest warrant or court decision. Weeks before the detection of heroin, he had obtained photographs from a studio to extend his visa. He had thereafter left for Pakistan hoping to return.
With the surveillance over, Inspector Ratnajeeva and his team confronted Jamil. He had said he came to Sri Lanka originally to buy a tea plantation. He had also imported a container load of grease. Customs had detained it and sought certification from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to clear the cargo. He was awaiting the completion of that inquiry. Later, when the CPC said it had nothing to do with synthetic grease, they had obtained a letter from the Industrial Technical Institute.
PNB Chief Kumar Silva wrote immediately to Customs asking them to inform him before the container load was released. That letter was the sole cause for the busting of the heroin smuggling attempt. If he did not write that, the heroin would have been smuggled in. Customs officer Gnanaraj telephoned Silva on August 29 to say the importer in question has completed procedures. He said in view of the letter, he was calling to say they were now ready to release the container. Customs had asked Kamil and Jamil if the containers were tampered with during the period they were on Sri Lankan soil. They had answered in the negative. Silva urged that Gnanaraj to hold back the consignment for a day. Then the containers were opened in the presence of PNB officers, Jamil, Kamil and Rilwan by Customs officials. They found the heroin concealed in polythene and immersed in synthetic grease containers. The Government Analyst who took over the 261 kilogrammes was to remove the polythene packing and re-weigh. Without the wrappings, it came to 241 kilogrammes. When questioned after the find by PNB detectives, Jamil said he had only helped a friend from Pakistan to bring the container for Kamil. He denied any knowledge of the drugs. However, the Pakistani Anti-Narcotic officers called his bluff. They have reason to believe that Kamil as well as Sardar Ahmed were traffickers working for a drug baron yet to be identified.
It took a partner of the UPFA, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) to raise issue over the massive drug bust. The quantities seized, PNB detectives say, are marketed after they are mixed with other chemical substances available in the local market. Thus the street value almost doubled. The main opposition United National Party (UNP), however, was unable to articulate its position except for its now Political Campaign Secretary, Mangala Samaraweera defending Premier Jayaratne. That was on the grounds that issuing a letter to seek a demurrage waiver was nothing unusual since Samaraweera as Minister of Ports had received a number of similar letters and acted on them. The strategy here was to make out that senior members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the majority partner in the UPFA, have now become targets of their leaders. In the process, the larger issue was completely ignored. Much to the UNP's chagrin, it led to belief in sections of its grassroots level cadres that their party was offering tacit support to the UPFA. Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe sought to clear the air regarding the UNP's official stand on the matter. Addressing the party's Buddhist Front he said the UNP supports investigations against all those involved in the heroin trade. Details of his speech appear on Page 4.
The situation has been made worse for the UNP this week by the UNP's Chief Whip and Gampaha District parliamentarian, John Amaratunga, well known for his flirtations with the UPFA Government. He is in the news