Pakistan, Maldives narco-syndicate behind Rs.200Mn worth ‘Ice’ seized from CME

Colombo, June 25 (Daily Mirror) - A Pakistani and Maldivian narcotics syndicate is suspected to be behind more than four kilos of ‘Ice’ worth over Rs. 200 million seized from a package at the Central Mail Exchange (CME) following a joint raid by the Customs and Police yesterday, the Daily Mirror learns. 

Customs officials at the CME halted a box that came through foreign mail from Pakistan on June 4th with information that the package might contain narcotic drugs. 

Customs Narcotic Control Unit officials, along with the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) officers, laid out a plan to wait for the recipients of the package to come to the CME to clear the goods. 

Thus, three males who came to clear the consignment at the CME yesterday afternoon were detained by the authorities and the package was unboxed to seize the drug Crystal Meth (Methamphetamine), popularly known in Sri Lanka as ‘Ice’. 

The box contained bedding material, including pillowcases and two large duvets. Inside the padding of one duvet, the authorities found 47 carefully concealed polythene packets containing the drugs. 

According to Customs Spokesperson Additional Director General Seevali Arukgoda, 4.8 kilos (4 kg, 847 grams) of ice were seized in the box, which had been sent to a recipient in Colombo. 

Preliminary inquiries revealed that the seized methamphetamine was of Indian origin, and a gram has a street value of Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 40, 000 in Sri Lanka. 

A senior Customs narcotics detective told the Daily Mirror that the three arrested men were residents of Modara and reportedly engaged in trading in the Manning Market. 

Having interrogated the suspects, the authorities have revealed that they were just acting as the middlemen to clear the goods from the CME and an organised syndicate of Pakistani and Maldivian nationals in Colombo were behind the smuggling attempt. 

The arrested suspects, along with the drugs, had been handed over to the PNB for further investigations, the sources said.