Emerald Isle Or Heroin Hub?

By Camelia Nathaniel -Picture by Asoka Fernando-Sunday, January 26, 2014 During the recent past the Sri Lankan authorities have busted several large scale illegal drug smuggling operations hich suggests the island is becoming a transhipment hub !or heroin in Asia"

#n early December about $% kilos &'' pounds( o! heroin as !ound at a resort o! )ikkadu a* hile in August last year Customs !ound '+% kilos &,-' pounds( o! pure heroin in a container at the Colombo port" .he cargo had been sent !rom Pakistan and declared as grease" Police are investigating a senior o!!icial !rom the Prime /inister0s o!!ice ho asked local authorities to aive demurrage charges and speed up the clearing o! the container* hich as later !ound to hold one o! the biggest hauls o! heroin identi!ied in Sri Lanka" According to police they had detected about 1$, kilos o! heroin last year compared to the 1% kg detected in '%$'" Speaking to .he Sunday Leader the police spokesman SSP A2ith 3ohana said that during the period '%$$ 4anuary to the end o! '%$1 the police had detected 15, kg o! heroin hile ,$*116 persons involved had been apprehended" Further* police had also detected $-+*-$5 kg o! 7an2a* hile 8-*+%$ persons ere arrested" 9ther varieties o! drugs 1%kg hile 1$ persons ere arrested !or their involvement* adding to a grand total o! $--*$11 kg o! drugs detected by the authorities hile $65*8++ persons ho ere involved in the illegal drug trade ere arrested by the police during this period" 3ecently the Criminal #nvestigation Division &C#D( arrested a ma2or drug dealer :/oratu ;asantha: and measures ere taken to con!iscate all his immovable property orth nearly 3s" $", billion" /oratu ;asantha as reportedly involved in an international drug distribution ring and as distributing heroin and other drugs throughout the country" )o ever despite an operation launched by the C#D to arrest the suspect* he is reported to have !led the country" /oratu ;asantha:s involvement in the drug trade as revealed !ollo ing the arrest o! !our suspects in possession o! heroin at )ikkadu a recently" Four other accomplices o! the drug kingpin are already in remand custody" According to the police even a!ter these suspects are arrested and remanded subse<uent to being produced in court* they still manage to conduct their business !rom ithin the prison ith

the use o! mobile phones hich are smuggled into prison* sometimes ith the assistance o! prison guards" )o ever hile the largest haul o! '+% kilos o! pure heroin as detected in a container at the Colombo port recently* police are yet investigating* hile no arrests have been made so !ar" /ean hile the Police have taken steps to obtain an e=tensive statement !rom the main suspect Sardari >han in connection ith the sei?ure o! illegal drugs concealed in t o containers" According to the police Spokesman SSP A2ith 3ohana the suspect in <uestion is no in custody in Pakistan" )o ever he said that although a statement ill be obtained via the drug unit based in Pakistan !rom Sardari >han* it ould not be su!!icient !or the investigations" @hile these t o containers ere sei?ed by the authorities* it is believed that many other containers could have slipped through Customs undetected" .he Sunday Leader reliably learns that many Pakistanis are engaged in large scale drug operations in Sri Lanka" )o ever the local drug dealers have proved to outsmart even these veteran drug dealers" Speaking to .he Sunday Leader a source !rom the prisons said that one o! the tricks used by the local dealers is to initially purchase large <uantities o! drugs !rom the Pakistani dealers and then get arrested by the police !or possession !or a small <uantity" .hen they tell the Pakistani dealer that the police con!iscated the entire stock o! drugs and that an investigation is under ay" .he !oreign dealer then decides to !lee the country !or !ear o! being arrested" .hen the local dealer pays a considerably small !ine !or the o!!ence and gets out o! prison* and later distributes the entire load o! drugs at total pro!it" @hile heroin is hat e re!er to hen e talk about drugs* another !orm o! drug that has made the headlines recently is Athanol" Customs last month sei?ed 5% barrels o! Athanol* hich had been illegally imported to the country* at the 9rugoda atte container yard" .he consignment o! ethanol had eighed $+*,%% litres" Customs investigations have revealed that the Athanol containers illegally imported to Colombo since last year as smuggled out o! the Colombo Port using a single container carrier truck" #nvestigations have also revealed that in addition to the Athanol containers sei?ed* around $, other Athanol containers have been smuggled using this truck in this ell planned manner* hich is said to have been purchased !rom a businessman in >elaniya a year ago* by the person ho had recently imported the stock o! Athanol under the guise o! tar" Since '%$1* police have sei?ed $$ containers o! Athanol* illegally imported to the country" @hile the issue o! illegal drugs and ethanol has been in the headlines lately* it has also been a hot topic in parliament" 3aising the issue in parliament BNP parliamentarian A2ith P" Perera said that on the basis o! individual consumption concerning drugs* Sri Lanka stands only behind 3ussia" )e charged that hile the government contested the elections ith the slogan C/athata .hitha0 today many o! these substances are imported* depriving the country o! ta=es" Speaking to .he Sunday Leader 4;P parliamentarian ;i2itha )erath said that hile the opposition parties have repeatedly called !or a proper investigation regarding the discovery o! the containers o! heroin and Athanol* to date* let alone arrests* the police have !ailed to even get a statement !rom the Prime /inister in the case o! the heroin container and a minister regarding the ethanol" DLast year hen +'*%%% litres o! Athanol as detected by the Customs an in<uiry as initiated" At that in<uiry a !inal report and 2udgement according to procedures as issued by the Deputy Director 7eneral o! Customs &according to the Customs 9rdinance(" #n that report he had stated t o persons /" Sasidharan and 4ayalath Pieris* ho ere shareholders o! A=is company"

Further in the report regarding 4ayalath Pieris* the Deputy Director 7eneral states that in '%$% on a re<uest made by BPFA parliamentarian Arundika Fernando a person named >* @i2enayake had registered a company called Avinda Logistics" @i2enayake is said to be the son o! /P Fernando0s aunt" .hat particular company had been !ined on previous occasions !or the illegal import o! ethanol" DAven in the latest detection o! the t o ethanol containers* 4ayalath Pieris is the main suspect* and !rom the time the detection as made /P Fernando had been constantly calling a Customs o!!icer called Sanath Fernando ho also happens to be a cousin o! the minister" #t is there!ore clear that the /P as constantly calling the Customs o!!icer in order to get the containers cleared" )o ever due to the involvement o! the other Customs o!!icials* he could do nothing" .his incident clearly indicates the !act that the politicians are directly or indirectly involved in this illegal practice" .o make matters orse hen e raised this issue in parliament* /P Arundika says* hy are you all hanging on to my small problem hen there are many others in the government ho import spirits illegally* but he re!uses to name them" @hat e ask is ho are these parliamentarians ho engage in this illegal practice" /oreover to date the police have !ailed to <uestion the /P regarding his involvement in this hole !iasco*E he added" /P )erath !urther said that the police should also obtain a statement !rom the Prime /inister" .he street value o! the sei?ed drugs container is believed to be around 3s" $', million" According to addicts on the streets* a small <uantity o! heroin e<uivalent to a earspoon!ul* sells !or around 3s" ,%%" 9ne gram o! heroin sells at around 3s" -*%%% hile 6% shots can be obtained !rom that gram and each shot sells !or around 3s" ',%" Athonol is not a banned substance in this country* hich is used as the into=icating ingredient o! alcoholic beverages" But the 5% barrels o! ethanol packed in a '%-!oot container brought to the country on a !alse import declaration* i! undetected* ould have cost the government 3s" $% million in ta= revenue" According to the Customs o!!icials the stock had been imported as palm oil to hood ink the Customs and evade the applicable ta=" According to the regulations !or the import o! ethanol* the importer has to get a licence under the import and e=port control regulations"