The Police Special Task Force has arrested a man alleged to manage the local drug distribution network of an overseas-based trafficker known as “Gagana,” seizing more than two kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine and 800 narcotic pills.
The STF said the raid was carried out along High Level Road in Homagama on Tuesday, acting on intelligence received by officers of its Special Operations Division. Hiru News placed the arrest in the Kandalanda area of the road, within the Homagama police division.
The suspect is a 44-year-old resident of Homagama, according to Ada Derana. Hiru described him as the principal local operative of the network and valued the seized narcotics in the tens of millions of rupees; Ada Derana did not put a figure on the haul.
The STF said the suspect and the seized narcotics were handed over to Homagama Police for further investigation and legal proceedings.
Neither report said whether the suspect has been produced in court, and the trafficker named as “Gagana” is described in both accounts as operating from abroad.
Context
The same network has featured in earlier enforcement action in the area. In April, the Western Province North Crimes Division arrested an associate of the figure known as “Homagama Gagana” with 12kg of heroin. Wednesday’s arrest is a separate operation by a different unit, with a different seizure, and police have not stated how the two cases relate beyond the shared network name.
The arrest comes as the government weighs tougher narcotics laws, with amendments to narcotics control and bail legislation in their final drafting stages.
