928 kg of cocaine worth Rs. 16.7bn destroyed

Nearly 928.2 kilos of cocaine worth Rs.16.7 billion seized by the Police Narcotic Bureau in 2016, was prepared for destruction today in the presence of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at BOI premises in Katunayake.

It was carried out under the supervision of Colombo Chief Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe and the official of Government Analyst Department.

The stock of cocaine was liquefied in an aqueous medium at the INSEE Ecocycle facility in Katunayake to be transported for final disposal to the Puttalam Cement Plant by a container under police security. INSEE Ecocycle assures that the destruction process would not expose the people and the environment to harmful emissions.

Ministers Sagala Ratnayaka and Thalatha Athukorala, State Mministers Piyasena Gamage and Ranjan Ramanayaka, the Defence Secretary and Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara were present at this event.

This entire stock of cocaine was seized from a ship bound to India from Ecuador on December 9, 2016 and was the biggest stock of cocaine to be detected in a South Asian country. The cocaine was concealed in a container stacked with timber.

Minister Ratnayaka said some Rs.34 billion worth of narcotics had been seized during raids carried out between 2015 and 2017 and pointed out that it was about 50 per cent of the Sri Lanka Police Department's annual expenditure.

“The government is taking steps to put a stop to drug smuggling and for this purpose we have established a Special Division in the Police Department to curb organized crimes and drug smuggling under the directions of the President and the Prime Minister,” he said.

The minister said in addition to local anti-drug authorities, the government is working with international institution and agencies such as United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the US, Australian Federal Police and Interpol to obtain assistance and share intelligence on drugs smuggling.(Darshana Sanjeewa)