Colombo, Sep 3 — Almost half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine was seized, and several suspects, including Pakistani nationals, were arrested during a joint counternarcotics operation carried out by the United States and Sri Lanka.
In a statement, the US Embassy in Sri Lanka said that the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Delhi Country Office and Sri Lanka’s Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) carried out a successful joint operation disrupting a Pakistan-based narcotrafficking network trying to smuggle crystal methamphetamine through Sri Lanka to international markets. It said that approximately 463 kg of crystal methamphetamine worth USD 21 million was hidden in bath towels.
"Acting on intelligence developed by DEA’s Foreign Counterparts Unit Pakistan Anti-Narcotics Force Special Investigations Cell between August 14–29 on suspicious maritime containers moving from Pakistan to Colombo, PNB seized approximately 463 kg of crystal methamphetamine — valued at USD 21 million — concealed in bath towels, and arrested several suspects, including Pakistani nationals. This operation underscores the strength of the US-Sri Lanka partnership in dismantling transnational criminal organisations that fund terrorism and threaten communities in both our countries," the US Embassy in Sri Lanka mentioned in a statement.
The Embassy said that the cooperation builds on longstanding training and technical assistance provided through the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to the Sri Lanka Police and Customs. It expressed the US' commitment to working with Sri Lanka and regional partners to aggressively act against transnational criminal organisations, deny them the revenue from illicit drug trafficking, and protect the people from the dangers of narcotrafficking.
In July, Sri Lanka's Deputy Inspector General of Police and Director of the Police Narcotics Bureau Ashoka Dharmasena said that more than 230,000 suspects have been arrested since the launch of the national anti-drug operation 'Ratama Ekata', leading Lankan newspaper 'Daily Mirror' reported.
Speaking to reporters, Dharmasena said the operation was launched in October last year as part of a coordinated network aimed at combating drug trafficking and narcotics-related crimes, Daily Mirror reported. As many as 230,248 suspects have been arrested during the operation for various drug-related offences in Sri Lanka, according to the police.