Two men have been arrested after police recovered 350 grams of ‘Ice’ — crystal methamphetamine — while investigating a road accident in the Dorowwa area of the Kotadeniyawa Police Division, Ada Derana reported.
The suspects, aged 21 and 25, were seriously injured on Sunday evening when the motorcycle they were travelling on collided with a bus. They were admitted to Dambadeniya Hospital for treatment.
Officers from the Kotadeniyawa Police Station who attended the crash found the suspected narcotics in bags belonging to the injured men and took them into custody.
Both are residents of Grandpass and Wellampitiya, in Colombo. They are receiving further treatment at Kurunegala Hospital under police protection, police said. Kotadeniyawa Police are continuing investigations.
The seizure was incidental
The detection was not the product of a narcotics operation. It came from a routine traffic investigation — officers examining a crash found the drugs in the casualties’ belongings. Neither man was under surveillance, on the account given.
That distinguishes it from most reported Ice seizures, which follow tip-offs or planned raids such as the Teldeniya ‘Facebook party’ raid that netted 41 arrests a day earlier.
Drug cases continue to dominate the enforcement system. Narcotics account for 70 per cent of the Government Analyst’s Department’s caseload, and Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said on the same day as this arrest that drug pills have reached rural schools.
Not reported
Ada Derana did not name the suspects, give the street value of the 350 grams, say whether either man has previous convictions, or report what charges are contemplated. It did not say whether anyone else was injured in the collision, identify the bus or its driver, or say when the suspects will be produced before court. No second newsroom had carried the story at the time of writing.
