SL awaits to destroy large haul of drugs

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya   

Sri Lanka Police set to destroy more than one tonne of heroin seized in various raids by the police and other law enforcement authorities in Sri Lanka after the year of 2022, Acting Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon said.   

 
He said that another substantial stock of heroin, seized prior to 2022, is currently under the custody of the government analyst department. 

These drugs are pending legal proceedings, and the government is holding them until the court cases are resolved.   

Expressing concerns raised by the public regarding the fate of seized drugs, Tennakoon addressed misconceptions and media reports suggesting that the confiscated drugs might have been mishandled or stolen.    “Sometimes, there is a misinterpretation that seized drugs somehow find their way back to drug smugglers. There have also been media reports claiming that the confiscated drugs were stolen,” Tennakoon said.   

He assured the public that the police have successfully destroyed some of the confiscated drugs in accordance with court rulings.   

In a similar case, 107 kilograms of heroin, seized by the Navy and the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) in 2019 and brought to Sri Lanka by sea, were incinerated at the Puttalam Cement Manufacturing Factory yesterday. The destruction took place in the presence of Puttalam Magistrate Mihil Chirantha Sathurusingha after completion of court proceedings.   

Tennakoon said that, following the enactment of the Poisons, Opium, and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on October 19th, 2022, the Sri Lanka Police will now have the authority to promptly destroy seized drugs, following the analysis by the Government Analyst, without waiting for the conclusion of court cases.   
“Accordingly, we will destroy more than 1,000 kilograms of heroin seized following the enact of the Amendment Bill in 2022,” Tennakoon said.