The Police Special Task Force has arrested two suspects in separate raids in Horana, seizing narcotics and more than Rs. 1.6 million in cash, police said.
One of those arrested is alleged to be connected to the trafficking operations of two overseas-based organised crime figures known as “Kudu Salindu” and “Dubai Tharanga”. Officers recovered 1 gram and 400 milligrams of ICE, or crystal methamphetamine, and 89 narcotic pills from the suspect, NewsFirst reported.
The second raid
In a separate operation, STF officers arrested a suspect said to be linked to the network of a large-scale trafficker known as “Rasika”.
That raid produced a substantially larger haul: 278 grams and 700 milligrams of hashish, 22 grams and 500 milligrams of Kush, 17 grams and 200 milligrams of heroin, 4,650 narcotic pills, and Rs. 1,610,950 in cash. All of it was taken into STF custody.
Police did not release the ages or home towns of either suspect, or say when the two raids took place.
A network policed from abroad
Both arrests are described by police as targeting distribution ends of networks whose principals are outside Sri Lanka — a recurring pattern in the country’s narcotics enforcement, where senior figures direct operations from the Gulf while local handlers move product.
The Special Task Force has become the lead unit in a number of these operations. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said earlier this year that the STF would step in where regular police units fall short on drug enforcement, and the unit has since run raids on networks tied to traffickers based in Dubai, including a 227 kg cannabis seizure in Kalutara and an ICE haul in Kadawatha.
Sources: NewsFirst.
