The Navy along with sleuths of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) arrested a dozen people along with over 70 kilograms of heroin in the deep seas, off the Southern Coast yesterday, a senior Naval official said.
The detection was made 100 nautical miles off Dondra Head on the Galle coast, Navy Media Spokesman Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya said.
Three multi-day fishing trawlers were also taken into custody and was being escorted to the Galle Harbour, Capt. Wickramasuriya said.
He said that it took several days and nights for the Navy and PNB sleuths to track down the suspect trawlers that were disguised as fishing vessels.
“It was a ‘sting’ operation that ended on a successful note and it should discourage other traffickers using the high seas for smuggling dangerous drugs.
The exit port of the drugs were not immediately known but investigators believe it could be either from Pakistan or Iran but nothing can be confirmed until investigations are completed.
“However, all the suspects are Sri Lankans hailing from the deep South,” Captain Wickramasuriya said
He said that this was also the single largest haul of heroin to be detected this year and moreover in the southern seas.
The smuggling of narcotic substances and other merchandise are more rampant in the Northern sea which is crowded with Indian and Sri Lanka fishing trawlers making searches an uphill task, he said.
