The Sri Lanka Navy has seized more than 2,276 kilograms of smuggled Kendu leaves in a joint search operation with police at Negombo, along with two dinghies and a lorry allegedly used to move the consignment.
The operation was carried out on Sunday in the Wellaweediya coastal area by naval personnel attached to SLNS Kelani of the Western Naval Command, working with officers of the Negombo Thelwatta Police.
Personnel inspected two dinghies and a lorry found in the area and recovered a large consignment of Kendu leaves that the Navy believes had been brought into the country by sea using the boats. The consignment was being readied for onward transport by lorry when the authorities intervened, according to the Navy.
The leaves, the two dinghies and the lorry were handed over to the Negombo Thelwatta Police for further legal action. Police are expected to investigate the operation and those behind it. No arrests were reported.
A recurring trade
Kendu leaves are used as wrappers for hand-rolled beedi cigarettes and are routinely smuggled into Sri Lanka in breach of import controls, making them a standing target for naval coastal patrols.
The seizure is the latest in a run of interdictions along the western seaboard. In late July the Navy recovered more than 3,800 kilograms of Kendu leaves in two operations within two days — about 3,135 kg off Karukapane Beach in Chilaw, and a further 735 kg in the Negombo Lagoon, where two suspects were arrested. That lagoon operation was also mounted by SLNS Kelani, the same unit involved in Sunday’s seizure.
The pattern points to the Negombo coastline remaining an active landing point for the trade despite stepped-up surveillance. The Navy has said it will continue patrols to curb trafficking of the restricted commodity.
